No matter how much time goes by, you'll always be mine
by roseygoldblush
Summary: High school AU! Kagome, Inuyasha & Co. are all sent five-hundred years into the future to her own time, in the modern age. How will they manage the daily struggles of being high school students while figuring out how to get back to the world they came from? Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi-san, not me! (warning: very mature content! read at your own discretion) please review! x
1. Chapter 1

Everything went haywire in the morning. Shit just _had_ to hit the fan on this day of days. Of course, I manage to wake up late and miss my alarm ringing, I literally have to run out of my house with a piece of toast slathered in jam my mom had shoved into my mouth (as if the irony of frustrating things in life could resemble even _more_ of what my favorite manga heroines endured), ignoring my brothers taunts and teases out the door, ignoring the slightly weird feeling I got passing the shrine outside the house – ignoring my racing heart.

You can't be late on the first day of high school! You just can't! I have a reputation to keep up. My friends would be counting on me. Hell. I was counting on _myself _to have not messed up - yet look where we are.

I thank the heavens for my relative athletic skills and still manage to look decently presentable while rushing into my new school's doors before I catch the bell ringing. I stop by a mirror in the girl's restroom to touch up my lip balm. I tousle my hair. It is unfixable. Way to go, Kagome. You're supposed to look well-rested and calm on the first day…not like you'd just ran a marathon.

I thought of all the times this happened in junior high, though, and shudder. I then also feel an odd chill on my right side as I turn my head to glance at the girl looking into the mirror beside me – she must have been a teacher, not a student. Her gorgeous figure and impeccable makeup sends me reeling. My cheeks flush, a little embarrassed for having been caught gawking at her beauty, and hurry out to find my first classroom.

Room 234. At least I'd been smart enough to come here before the fall term began, and I knew exactly where to find it. _Right, _I think, unable to stop my heel from stamping onto the ground to assert myself where I stood. _You got this._

I open the door and head in, high on confidence, a little taken aback by not having any friends in here with me, as far as I could tell. I sigh a little, dreading homeroom already for the rest of the year. Even when Eri, and Ayumi, and Yuka were being nosy as hell – at least it was fun to be paid attention to…

I sigh again and rest my chin in my palms. I mourn my lack of breakfast and think now that even without the main morning bell ringing, I was still here just in time, and could have lingered around at home for longer to eat and get my shit straight. Paranoid, I grab my bag and triple-check to make sure I've got everything I need. With relief, I realize I do, and wish that it would afford me more peace of mind than it does.

The teacher walks into the room then, checking his watch, then glancing at the one up on the wall. A few more students bustle in and get settled, and the bell rings. The teacher rushes over to the door to close it then, clearly in a hurry to get the first lesson of the year out of the way, but then a big hand suddenly grips onto the edge of the door and I can't help but notice how easily it swings the weight of the door _and _the teacher combined aside. I mean – not knocking him into the wall or anything comical like that – but rather a little intimidating I think, noticing the really muscular arm that follows the hand…I swallow.

A guy walks into the room, then. He really stands out, with platinum silver hair swishing past his shoulders. He is noticeably taller than our teacher. A couple of us, including myself, start immediately judging this delinquent-looking dude showing up late on the first day at such a prestigious high school.

"You're late, young man," The teacher says, adjusting his tie and clearing his throat.

"Oh, God, for-_give_ me," The jerk sighs back dramatically, rolling his eyes.

"I'll allow it for the first day, circumstances barred."

His attitude has been noted, it's clear.

The guy adjusts the hat on his head…a beanie. Wasn't it a bit warm for that today? I start to feel myself grow irritated at the smug look on his face. He doesn't apologize to the teacher and my back lights on fire as I notice him take the empty seat behind me. I feel unjustified and angry, and not sure why my stomach feels so hot all of a sudden along with this.

He kicks the leg of my chair on accident, I assume, I hope, while spreading his legs comfortably in his seat. I glare up to the ceiling. _Please God, give me the patience to not kill this idiot before I graduate._

Roll is called. Then, when it is halfway through, suddenly the door slams open again – another male student comes in, his entire cheek swollen red and a dazed look on his face. There is some shouting out in the hallway – girls' voices. His hair is in a low and short ponytail, and his ears are pierced. I start to feel alarmed. Did I apply to the wrong school?! Were all my classes going to be filled with freaks and criminals like this?

He takes a seat not too far from mine, slides into it like he's just come out of a sauna, forehead glistening and gaze glassed over. He is grinning just barely. I then notice the red mark on his face is shaped like a hand and the girl's screaming makes sense.

"…Miroku?" The teacher asks, looking at him over his glasses incredulously, lucky for him he'd come just in time for his name to be called, we guessed.

"Yes, sir," The guy replies, adjusting himself to a more professional looking position and losing the dreamy eyes. I note that this Miroku is the player type and make a mental note to avoid ever making eye contact for as long as I go here.

"Kagome?"

I raise my hand, "Here."

The ass behind me gives a sort of snicker under his breath at the brief exchange and I whip my head around to glare at him while the teacher keeps going on calling out other names. His eyes look into me, bored and hollow – but an incredible color – what was that? Honey? Amber?—

"Take a picture, it lasts longer," He sneers, and I curl my lip and turn back around, adjusting my long hair in the back with my middle finger out for him to see. He shuts up.

Good.

* * *

My classes could not have gone by slower. I feel my patience drain drastically as we go over the same old cookie cutter syllabi, and I repeat time spent in rooms without any friends…but that Miroku guy, and the white-haired freak whose name I learn is Inuyasha, aren't in other classes of mine so far either, and for that I am so grateful I can hardly express it except for sighing excessively every other minute.

Lunch period rolls around, and I make a mental note to stop by my assigned locker at the end of the day so I can set it up and not have to lug around my heavy bentou in my bag along with my books and everything else. I find my three best friends in the cafeteria and they rush to me, practically carrying me to their table while squealing excitedly over meeting again.

"Kagome! We looked everywhere for you this morning," They gush at me.

"I knooowww," I whine, "I woke up late! You guys know me."

They giggle and chide and go on to eating. I find myself people-watching as they chat, and notice not too far away at a smaller table is that really gorgeous girl from earlier. It looks like she is eating alone, but doesn't mind – she catches me watching her again and narrows her eyes at me. I look away, _beyond _embarrassed by now. Obviously she was fine by herself, I didn't need to harbor any sympathy.

But then my eye is caught in her direction again when I notice the white-haired delinquent approaching her, and haughtily shoving himself into the closest seat at her side. She glances at him but ignores his intense glare. He starts to talk and use his hands a lot for emphasis, but she hardly seems to notice or reply. I wish I could hear what they were saying, but the outcome betrays it all anyway when he gets up and slams his fist on the table, and storms off. He doesn't sit elsewhere like I expect – he just entirely leaves the cafeteria.

I am so intrigued I almost want to follow, but then I remember that nasty attitude and shake it out of my head. Ayumi playfully nudges me and teases the fact I had spaced out. I laugh too and bring myself back to the real world, forcing myself to ignore the pretty girl and what seemed to be wanted of her, by him.

* * *

At the end of the day, I realize I do at least have one class with my three girlfriends – a major coincidence – but then for last period we have to return to homeroom, and I groan inwardly and want to whine and cry. I suck it up anyway and take in a deep breath before heading back there, just so eager to get through the last of it and see the day end peacefully…and survive whatever else could happen…

But that was going to be impossible. Before the bell rings, Miroku is in there arguing with a girl about whether or not he had goosed her, holding his hands up and laughing sheepishly while other girls crowd around, either interested - or involved somehow.

Inuyasha comes in then while the shouting match climaxes, and he just somehow totally ignores it but makes a point instead to really glare at me as he takes the same seat behind me again. As soon as I hear him sit down I spin my body around to glare back.

"Is there some kind of _problem _we're going to have?" I demand, not scared.

"Hell yeah," He snarls back. "Your face. I don't like it."

_Literally. What the hell? _I blink hard and do a double take, not sure how to react to that at first. I know…I _know_ I'm not ugly! What in the world was his issue?!

"Honestly, that's pitiful," I harrumph and turn back around to just tell him over my shoulder, "I feel sorry for you."

I can feel from the lack of an instant retort he is taken aback in turn and I smirk to myself. But then what he asks me catches me off guard.

"Fucking whatever. Anyways. Do you happen to know…a Kikyou?"

"Kikyou?" I make a face at him, annoyed with his weird accusations and then this out of the blue-ness. "No, it doesn't ring a bell."

"Figures," He growls. "Forget it."

I wish I were strong enough to fight him, he makes me so mad. For the last 45 minutes of the day I am fuming. I storm out of the room when it finally ends so I can run to my locker and then home – I don't even want to see my girl friends – I just need to get the hell away!

I find my locker down the hallway and shove all my books into it, sighing with relief at the finalization of this long ass day, feeling my heart soar at the thought of crashing in my bed as soon as I got home, curled up with my cat Buyo, napping for a hundred hours…!

"Yo," Someone says above me as I'm kneeling down. I look up.

It's the player guy from earlier…Miroku, or whatever it was.

"What is it," I ask absentmindedly.

"I'm having a party at my place this weekend," He offers, shrugging. "I'm only asking pretty girls to come though," He winks at me, and I shudder on the inside.

"Uhhhh, I don't know," I reply, hoping he'll just say something ambivalent and walk away – but I realize quickly he is the rather persistent type.

"Come on, let loose a little," He laughs.

"Remind me again on Friday, and I'll see," I tell him, slamming my locker door and standing up. He raises his eyebrows. "Alright," He responds, walking off. I watch him for a moment as he approaches another pretty girl, proposing the same thing most likely. Several other girls go up to him too and the laughing starts and doesn't stop and I turn away, bored already. I hope he forgets he asked me among all the other chicks he's trying to persuade to also go.

As I hurry to get out of the doors through the crowd of people, I accidentally shoulder several, then run into someone's chest full-on in my desperation to get out and head home. You wanna guess who it was?

"'The fuck? Watch where you're going, bitch," He snarls at me.

"Oh, FUCK OFF," I yell back. I am astounded at myself! Inuyasha makes a startled face but still doesn't move out of my way, then lets out a roar of laughter that just stuns me. Shocking me further that I could be even more stunned than I already was.

"Nice," He laughs, clearly pleased, then moves out of my way. Did I earn his respect or something for that? Anyway, who cares?

I groan and stalk off, just wanting to get home and not have to think about it, or him, or anyone, or anything anymore.


	2. Chapter 2

By the time Friday rolls around, I already feel like I am about to burst. It's not even the schoolwork that's so overwhelming. It's the people!

It seems like everywhere I go in the hallways, Inuyasha is there. He either glares like he's trying to figure out some secret I have, or like he really needs me to know how much he hates me. I try to just ignore it – I won't worry unless he follows me home – then he'll _really_ get it!

In class he'll always kick the legs of my chair and I know it's not clumsiness or an accident. And when lunchtime comes, he tries to talk to that beautiful girl every time. Sometimes she responds. Sometimes she doesn't. I feel like an audience member in a soap opera – I say this, yet there isn't even a plot to the story that I know of.

When the end of the day comes about, someone knocks on the door of our homeroom briefly before walking in – a lady teacher, and a young girl, a student, clearly, who actually looks quite a bit more mature than the rest of us...

"Excuse me, sorry for interrupting, Mr. Tanaka," She says, grinning, putting a hand on the student's shoulder. "We have a new exchange student today!"

"Oh, right, I received notice about this earlier," Our teacher replies, adjusting his glasses and looking at some papers on his desk. "Sango, correct?"

"Yes," She responds, sounding kinda bored. I'm impressed with how coolly she gazes around the room, no hint of nervousness at all – in fact, there's a slight intimidating air about her in spite of the inherent cuteness of her face.

I turn to glance at Miroku, of course. He's eyeing her like dessert freshly served and I sigh and roll my eyes to the heavens. _God help that man learn to use his hand or something._

"There was a slight delay in her moving here," The woman says to our teacher, "So please excuse her being late."

"No problem."

Sango sits down and sighs, flipping her incredibly long ponytail over one shoulder. I secretly wonder if she's friendly, or if I'll get to talk to her. I'm not sure why I feel like I want to be her friend so much.

Class ends without anything else happening, and I wonder why they even bother with first-week formalities. As soon as the bell rings and everyone is standing up, someone practically falls out of their chair to run after Sango and who _else_ but the pervert that's been starry-eyed since she walked in?

I happen to follow behind them out the door, trying to keep my eyes away.

"Sango! It's so lovely to meet you," He tells her, shaking her hand excitedly. She looks a little amused, but mostly bewildered. "I'm just so happening to have a party tonight. Would you be interested in joining?"

I wonder how many girls he's invited at this point and realize I myself still haven't decided if I was going to go or not. I knew my mom would be a little iffy about something so early on in the year, but all in all she wouldn't stop me. Was that a good enough reason? Was Miroku right? Did I really need to let loose?

Then again, I hadn't opened a single textbook for any of my classes this week, I think that was as loose or as lax as anyone could get…

"Uh, sure, why not?" Sango tells him, and I can imagine him doing that thing where you jump up and clap your heels together in joy. He grins smoothly and hands her a little slip of paper. _Jeez, why don't you just ask for her number, and her hand in marriage while you're at it._

"Cool. See you then."

They walk separate ways then and I hurry to rush off to my locker, ignoring how randomly cute they seemed to look together, but then someone puts a hand on my shoulder and I jump.

"Higurashi-san?"

I almost don't recognize the guy for a moment until I realize it's Houjo-kun – an old classmate of mine.

"Oh, hi Hojou!" I reply, still walking, feeling friendly but massively out of time. He walks alongside me.

"It's been so long! Hopefully you had a good summer."

He bores me a little with the familiarities and I space out a bit while opening and shutting my locker, when he fails to surprise me with a request for a date. How many times I could stand this guy up, whether accidentally or intentionally, and have him still not be fazed – I would never know!

"Well, I'm busy this evening—" Am I really? I decide to just go with it—"maybe tomorrow? I'm not sure."

"Okay! That's fine, I'll just send you an email," He waves and runs off and I shake my head a bit, a little confused but…just accepting it. What else could I do?

Then as I start to walk off and head out of the school building, someone else puts a hand on my shoulder and it's nowhere near as gentle. I jump a mile into the air and whirl around to furiously face whoever scared me - yet, my heart getting stuck in my throat prevents me from really being able to sound as mad as I was.

"Yo!" It's Inuyasha…I fume at him, momentarily speechless, and he sneers back.

"What do _you_ want?!"

"Answer my question—" He demands immediately. "Do you have a _sister_ that goes here?"

"Hmph! NO, but even if I did, I wouldn't talk to _you_ about it!" I shout back at him.

"That's gotta be a lie, both of you are lying," He snarls. I notice he's blushing though, and that makes me blush, and I curse myself for blushing being such a contagious thing for me.

"Both…of us? Who are you talking about? What are you trying to insinuate?"

"In-sin…u…what?! What the fuck. Why do you have to talk like that? No one uses words like that, you nerd."

"I don't have time for this," I sputter, but he stops me from going forth once again.

"You have to tell me the truth. It's _really_ important."

I notice the tiniest hint of urgency in his voice and…what I can't mistake as desperation. I wish this was a situation where I could take advantage of that and get him to apologize for being such an annoying jerk so far, but…I doubt he is the type who could feel remorse anyway.

"You look exactly fucking like her," He keeps going. "Ok, like, you're not as pretty, but…you look the fucking same! What the fuck is with that!"

"I literally have no idea what you're talking about," I whine, wanting to get away. I want to go home and think about if I'll even go to that party or not. Or just be in my room binging on snacks and reading manga._ Anything_ but getting interrogated like this.

"Is this about that girl you're always trying to talk to during lunch?"

He looks at me, surprised, golden eyes gleaming. I still can't get over that color. "So you _do_ know her...? Wait a minute-"

"Wait, what? No! I don't…I see her around but I have no clue who she is…"

That weird feeling from earlier, from many times before, comes back. Come to think of it, I have been noticing it pop up a lot since school started, and it's like the mental rush from déjà vu, but…no memory follows. It just makes a pit sink in my stomach through my head and down into my heart. I wish I could explain it better. His eyes bear painfully deep down into my soul and I feel like I am a witness to something I should not be a part of.

"I'll get to the bottom of this," He mutters, spinning around suddenly and walking away. I sigh, exhausted, then while I'm walking off I realize he'd been implying I looked like that girl. _But not as pretty._ How was that even possible? She was model material and…ok, I was cute, but she was on another level.

But still, what the hell? I feel so insulted for some reason. Why should it matter if he finds me attractive or not anyway? This leaves me unable to stop pouting.

* * *

When I finally get home, I toss my worn-out body onto my bed and end up not even thinking about whether or not I want to go to that party Miroku is having. My mind is made up. I reach into my bag beside my bed to pull out the paper he'd written his address on and given to me. I try to recall where I'd seen that street name before. I knew it wasn't too far.

I wish I had a cell phone. That'd make things so much easier.

I keep pondering about it. Sango will be there. And…I wonder if he'd invited Eri and Ayumi and Yuka too, without knowing we were already friends. I chill for a few hours, attempting to study, then give up for not being able to retain anything and change out of my uniform and into some better clothes – a comfy circle skirt, a thin and loose sweater, stylish sneakers. I put my hair up high and let my fringe frame my face. I didn't want anyone thinking I was going to that party with some sort of ulterior motive. I couldn't look _too_ good.

I start to head out the door, giving my mama a quick hug before I left, and head out towards the neighborhood down the road where I figured out this party was being held at.

It was a little weird, thinking how he lives so close to me. I breathe in the brisk late summer air, letting it calm down my worked-up mind. I worry a bit about getting lost here out at night, but the sun will still be out for a few more hours, and his house number isn't really too far down the street.

I approach the door and hesitate before knocking. When I finally do, the door swings open almost immediately – Miroku and a girl on either side of him greet me enthusiastically. There is some music blasting from inside and I smile nervously.

"Kagome! Glad you decided to come!" He yells, moving out of the way to let me in. I smile a little at everyone who turns to look at who just came in, then they go back to whatever they were doing. "Make yourself at home," Miroku tells me, disappearing with the girls clinging to him.

I look around for anyone I know, noting the multitude of snacks and the punch bowl and all the cups scattered around. I wonder if it's spiked or not – my mama would _kill_ me if I came home drunk…!

I notice Sango on one of the smaller sofas then, in front of the coffee table. She's on her cell phone and texting away. I approach her a little carefully. "Hi!" I say to her, sitting down also.

"Oh! Hi. You were in my class earlier today...what was your name again?" She asks, sounding a lot nicer than I expect her to.

The déjà vu feeling comes back. I shove it away as I tell her, "I'm Kagome!"

"Kagome…?" She looks at me with raised eyebrows. "Have I met you before? Hm. Sorry? That's odd, haha. I just feel like I might have met you somewhere. Or someone who looked like you."

"Not that I know of," I say, in the friendliest way possible…maybe she feels that weird nostalgic feeling I've experienced too? She smiles at me and I grin back and I can tell we'll get along fine.

"…Is there alcohol in the punch?" I go on, glancing at the huge bowl. A few people come by and refill their cups. I don't really know how long the party's been going on, but no one seems to be acting…off, so far.

"I haven't tried it," She replies, looking weirded out. "Not sure if I want to."

I suddenly wonder if Miroku is the type to spike drinks and I feel a little freaked out, making sure I'll just ask for some water later or something. Then I feel a bit guilty for being so judgmental. He was nice enough to invite us after all. Maybe he wasn't just a typical creep. And then my mind goes back to my earlier question – did he _really_ invite only girls?...

I glance around some more and find the guys. There aren't many, and those that are here are chatting with other girls too.

"I wonder why I feel like I've met Miroku somewhere before as well?" Sango murmurs, more to herself I think – I look at her, intrigued, but before I can say anything at all the door bursts open really loudly and a couple of us all jump up in surprise. I can't believe the person didn't even knock.

I feel my jaw drop…Inuyasha walks in, wearing that same stupid dark red beanie as always, holding a six pack of soda. He shuts the door hard behind him with his foot and drops the drinks down onto the coffee table, and starts to talk to Miroku who is elsewhere – "Oooyy—"

Then he stops and sees me, looking outraged, and points rudely. "What the fuck!? Why are YOU here!" He shouts at me, really loud, making a few other people here at the party stare…

Sango looks at me, making a half-amused, half-concerned face. "You know him?"

"As a matter of fact, I don't!" I sniff, turning away, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"I've never saw him or Miroku talk in class though," Sango muses.

"He probably just busted in now after hearing he wasn't invited," I muttered.

Sango snickers under her breath and I can't help but smirk too. He notices us giggling at him and angrily crosses his arms. He glares at me and starts to say something, appearing distracted, but then something seems to catch his eye and he disappears out of the room, like being led away by the nose.

I sigh and wish I'd stayed home. I'd never really gone to parties before anyway. What was I thinking doing so now?

But something weird starts happening in my body – that persistent sensation from earlier that had just been growing and growing. Something takes a hold of me and I stand up, about to follow Inuyasha wherever he'd gone to find out what was going on. And besides, I wasn't going to take his attitude any longer!

"Kagome? Where you going?" Sango asks, looking up at me inquisitively. I roll up the sleeves of my sweater and put my hands on my hips.

"I'm gonna go give that _jerk_ an intervention!" I tell her. "He's been talking to me like that all week and I've had it! I've _got_ to figure out what gives! Especially in a room full of people, I mean, come ON, how humiliating!"

"Oh, so you do know him," Sango says, smiling the tiniest bit. I'm a little confused by that but I give a tired laugh to let her know it's not her I'm mad at.

"I'll be right back." I say, breezing off, following him down the hall. He is leaning sort of against the wall on the other end, talking to someone shorter than him. I notice who it is and gasp, pushing myself around the corner to hide. I can actually hear them.

"Kikyou, come on, I only stopped by because I knew you'd be here."

"I can't keep avoiding you like this, Inuyasha," It's my first time hearing her voice – very melodious…

"Clearly you can," He says, a weighty patience in his voice unlike anything I'd ever heard come out of his mouth. "No one else can see you. Something's going on."

_No one else can see her...?_

What was the meaning of this?


	3. Chapter 3

_(Notice - some people have inquired as to the nature of the school setting of the story - for simplicity's sake, I'm going to keep it as an American high school and not convert it to the Japanese high school system. I will keep any Japanese vocabulary as much as possible and wherever I see necessary. I hope it's not confusing to have this slight hybridized school thing going on with uniforms and bentou boxes and all, but I mostly am writing this story for my own enjoyment and the school aspects of the plot will make more sense as time goes by, seeing as modern American teen culture has more of the vibe I'm going for with this story. Like I said, I promise it'll still make sense, it won't be an intrinsic thing necessary to the plot itself, and I promise it won't detract from any enjoyment you should experience while reading this fanfic. If anything consider it unique, seeing as Kagome's canon circumstances are quite unique too ;) Thanks for reading and understanding! much love xoxo)_

* * *

As I stand with the front of my body pressed up against the wall, I feel my heart start to race the more I voyeuristically observe these two.

They have been silent for a little while after that remark Inuyasha made – _no one else can see you. _His shoulders slope over her, and the one-third of her body that is visible to me appears to lean in towards his…it's so subtle it probably just looks like they're trying to talk without anyone eavesdropping, yet look where we are.

But…alongside this secrecy they're engaging in, there's something else I'm picking up on. That sense of urgency when he tries to talk to her at lunch. The way her eyes so rarely make contact with his, demurely glancing away.

Yuck. They look like they want to kiss.

I exhale heavily and turn away, no longer convinced I can learn anything interesting from their encounter – maybe I had just heard it all wrong in the first place, or Inuyasha meant no one else could see her in, like, a dating way.

Jeez, what was a weirdo like him doing with a beauty like that anyway? Was he hot if he took the dumb hat off or something?

My stupid questions rumble around in my mind like impending storm clouds and I do just that, I storm off and go back to sit next to Sango and exhale loudly.

"Did you tell him off?" She asks happily.

"I didn't get to," I mutter, sulking.

"What! Why not?"

"He was busy talking to some chick, and I'm not as much of a jerk as _he _is to interrupt," I tell her, sticking my jaw proudly in the air, reaching out to grab some chips sitting in the bowl on the coffee table absentmindedly.

"Hmm," She ponders, putting a hand on her chin. "Weird, because I was going to suggest he's only mean to you because he likes you, but I guess I was wrong."

My heart does that weird fluttering thing when you hear any news about a possible crush, and I almost choke on the chips, but then I feel a big wave of relief wash over as I realize like Sango has, that he obviously liked someone else anyway.

Dear God, I'd have to go into witness protection and move a hundred miles away or something if a freak like that had feelings for me!

"Hm, so enough about me," I proclaim, forcing my mind onto other things. "Sango, do you think there's anyone cute at our school?"

I normally wouldn't try and think about this – seeing as my grades had been suffering so much anyway – but it was fun to talk about regardless. Sango's eyebrows raise and she does that thinking face again.

"Maybe!" She replies finally, smiling. I intend to ask who when all of a sudden the host of the party stumbles into the room, literally getting pounced on by two different girls, who were completely separate from the ones he'd answered the door with, and then also entirely different from the ones who'd dragged him away from said door in the first place…

"Ladies, laaadies!" He laughs, practically crying in mirth.

Sango's face goes flat. "But definitely not someone like _that,_" She says this with a cold and distant hatred, but she watches with blunt curiosity anyway. "That's not cute at all."

"I feel like maybe the other dudes here are kind of put off by him because of that? Who wouldn't be jealous of all that attention," I try to observe, unable to help but stare like her also. The girls don't try to kiss or really touch him or anything, they're content with just giggling and letting their weight fully drop onto him…however, I can't help but notice his eyes have been on Sango this whole time, and I wonder if she notices too. I look to see, but notice instead that she's spaced out now.

"...Hey, I know it's early, but do you wanna ditch this place?"

"Finally someone asked," She snaps out of it quickly. "God. I thought I was gonna die of boredom."

We get up and sneak out the moment Miroku is distracted, so he doesn't try to call us out for dipping so early on in the evening. As we slip out the door I think again of Inuyasha's words, about this so-called Kikyou…_no one else can see you…!_

I wrack my brain trying to think of what about that sounded so significant; I keep trying to reason with myself, _no, it's not in a dating way – he put stress on "see", not "no one else"…but what else could it _mean?!

I shake my head heard as though it would clear up the thoughts. Sango giggles at me and I feel a little embarrassed for actually doing that in real life. What was this, an anime or something?

"Hey, do you think we're ok walking by ourselves at night by the way?" I ask. "Should we have at least asked Miroku to walk us halfway or something…?"

She astonishes me by pulling out two knives from the back pockets of her jeans, brandishing them skillfully. She gives a little proud smirk. "I think we're fine."

"Wow, Sango," Is all I can say, laughing nervously. Even though I'm shocked, it somehow suits her. With her tall, lithe physique, it makes sense she can totally kick ass, and somewhere deep inside I feel a little sigh and wish I could be strong like that, too. "Guess I don't need to worry!"

She comes with me up to the front of my house, after being silent for the rest of the walk. "It was nice getting to chill for a little bit!" I say to her. "Even if the party was kinda lame," I laugh.

"Haha, thanks Kagome, you too," She tells me. "Next time we can just invite some of our own guys to balance it out," She grins playfully and then waves, disappearing into the night.

I lean against my door and exhale. I don't want to go back inside quite yet. Although I'm not painfully disappointed or anything…it was Friday after all, shouldn't I still be out having fun? Souta would poke fun at me. I frown at the thought.

I inhale the late evening air deeply, letting it soothe me from the inside out. My mind feels so jarred and I can't begin to really place the reason why – all I can think about are amber eyes.

It makes me mad that he's randomly on my mind right now, as I look over to the _goshinboku _across the yard. I feel a headache coming on the more I try to question myself as to why. I undo my hair and let it fall across my shoulders, feeling some of the tension release with the elastic gone.

I walk over to the sacred tree, thinking happily somewhat about the rich history of the place we lived in – how jii-chan took the shrine thing so seriously – it embarrassed me a lot of the time but deep down I wouldn't deny any pride of it.

I reach out to touch the tree, sighing in a lonely way, sort of wishing I hadn't left the party now. Would it have gotten better if I'd just tried to give it a chance?

It feels rough under my palm – naturally, obviously, the way trees do – I feel the deep scar down the center of it, wondering what sort of thunder could leave such a mark on a beautiful thing like this.

"YO!"

I jump at someone else shouting all of a sudden and I let out a screech in shock and cover my mouth to stop the sound – oh my God!

"What the hell are _you _doing here, _again,_" I hear a boy's voice drawl, and my heart sinks down deep into my stomach and through the ground. Oh no. Oh no no no _please no—_

"Why don't I ask YOU that, you CREEP!" I scream back up at him.

If you hadn't guessed by the pattern developing in my miserable life, it was Inuyasha, of course. Wasn't he still at Miroku's party trying to make out with that chick Kikyou or whatever?! Why was he in _my_ tree on _my _lot?!

"I always chill here," He mutters. I see him then, stretched out comfortably along a wide bough pretty high up, his arms behind his head...how was that even comfy in the first place?

"I-I-I-" I want to cry. "But I LIVE here," I sputter. "Have you NEVER noticed the house in front of you?! It never occurred to you that you were trespassing on private property?!"

"Christ, woman," He groans. "I never paid attention to no damn _house!_"

"Well you _should_ have," I stomp hard on the ground, not really sure if I should go inside until I made sure this weirdo left. "Tell me why you're here anyway! I'm not going to leave you be until you _scram!"_

"I just _told_ you I chill out here all the time," He shouts back. "The fuck! This tree is mine, you hear?!"

"That's not a good enough answer for me!"

He makes some frustrated groaning sounds and sits up, hops off the tree branch, and nearly slams into me as he lands down nearly on all fours on the ground. Jeez, that was up from pretty high. He gets up and crosses his arms, glaring down at me. I notice then he isn't wearing his usual beanie…and…that he has…pointed dog ears…

I get distracted and reach out to touch one of them. Were they real?

It feels like velvet to my fingertips, and twitches at the sensation; he smacks my hand away lightly and frowns. I'm in shock.

"Whoa, who said you could touch me?"

"-Are those really real? Like are you wearing a headband or something?"

"What? No," He growls.

"How are they…like…attached to you?" I realize then how his name makes sense. Sort of. And how dumb my question sounds.

"Really? That's what you're concerned about?" He says this angrily but also in a kind of tired way. I then remember I should be mad he's infringing on my privacy and I step away with a huff.

"Ahem- anyways – you should leave," I tell him, lowering my voice in the hopes he'll take me more seriously. I'm not sure why in spite of the fact I'm massively annoyed…I don't feel scared of him at all…? "Leave, as in, like, right now. Before I call the cops or-"

"I'm going to talk to you about what's going on once and for all," He suddenly interrupts me and I feel my eyebrows go up. Then a little bit of the fear I was looking for sets in.

"So. You can see Kikyou, right?" He starts. His eyes turn away. I don't nod for yes or no, I just cautiously wait for him to go on… "Well you should know no one else can like…_see _her. Like she's invisible to everyone else. Or whatever."

"How is that possible?" I sputter – then remember he has dog ears, and I silence myself. I guess anything was possible since high school started. The weird feeling from many times before comes back and I hide a cringe as it becomes overwhelming. I see now what he meant, and I had been right.

"There's something…wrong, that happened, a really long time ago," He begins, leaning his back against the tree, sighing forlornly, almost like an old man telling a war tale, and I want to giggle at the thought. "It's happening now. You must be involved in the whole ordeal if you're someone else that can see her too."

"What exactly is wrong, though? The thing that happened? Other than the obvious," I hold my arm tighter to my side. It's gotten a little colder, and after all, it was getting late. But I feel my attention is so focused on his upcoming words I can't be bothered by it, or the nervousness that comes along as well.

"The thing…that happened long ago, got carried into this world, or rather, brought into this world by the force of something out of our control—"He pauses and seems to struggle for words—"I myself don't really get it; but Kikyou does."

"So that's why you're always trying to talk to her," I say, like it makes sense. But the burning questions still sit deep within.

His face flushes and his ears that had been pricked up flatten against his head. "Y-yeah – but – I need to find out if anyone else can see her! Kagome, if you can, then—"

My breath catches in my throat – that was the first time he'd called me by my name. I start to feel a little dizzy and I don't know why. I start to hear and see things unfamiliar to me – a young man's voice calling my name, someone crying and screaming, arrows firing, laughter, the sound of many feet running on the ground –

I hadn't realized I'd blacked out…I open my eyes again and Inuyasha is there holding onto me, his face looking irritated and confused.

_Wow, he caught me? I'd have expected him to just let me drop to the ground._

"What happened?..."

"Probably some effect of the jewel," He muttered, lifting me up and leaning me against the tree where he'd just been.

"Jewel...?" _Why did that sound so familiar? Like I'd heard a jewel being talked about like that before?_

My heart started racing hard at the feeling of his hands letting go; I hadn't expected there to be such a feeling of warmth at the touch in general, and that aggravates me. I still don't understand the things I heard or saw in that moment, also…and it makes my head pound relentlessly, along with the bright glowing light behind my eyes I can feel the visions getting replaced with. I breathe in and out to try and regain full grasp of consciousness, and I gasp and forget how when Inuyasha puts his hand on the side of my face.

I feel like it fully awakens me, and even though I have to stop myself from flinching, I don't have the heart to slap that hand away.

"You really do look just like her," His voice now sounds entirely unlike the one of his I'd been hearing this whole time, and I wonder if maybe, somehow, I'm still unconscious. He then pulls his hand away, balling it into a fist and looking down at it, then turns around and starts to walk off.

I watch him disappear, dumbstruck.

"You're going to help me figure this all out," He shouts at me then over his shoulder, apparently back to normal.

I blink a few times, still completely bemused by his on-and-off attitude, and sigh, warming my arms through my thin sweater sleeves with my hands now that it'd gotten cold, and I head back inside, and his words and everything that happened repeat themselves far into the night, and endlessly deep inside my dreams.

The warmth from where his hand touched my face felt like it would never leave my cheek.


	4. Chapter 4

In the morning when I wake up, I grab onto my comforter with a gasp, shooting upright and feeling my heart palpitating like crazy. I check my alarm clock, but it isn't even going off. 10:46AM. My cat Buyo had been startled by me and clung on to the end of my mattress, staring at me like I was some sort of scary monster he didn't recognize anymore.

The dream…or nightmare that had woken me up didn't even make any sense. I was in the woods, running around with a bow and arrow, being followed by thick purple smoke. I had been coughing and looking for a particular bright light in the smoke, but it shifted around too much for me to get a scope on, and then some man's laughter struck so much fear in my heart – and when I tripped on something jutting out of the forest floor, the impact was what woke me up –

I bury my face into my sheets and sigh, collecting myself. I'd never had a nightmare like that – usually my scary dreams only consisted of endless math problems and failing tests in a premonition sort of way!

I reach to my face and touch my cheek. The air leaves my lungs again. _Inuyasha._

My brain starts to throb then, like something is trying to enter it, and I almost want to cry I'm so frustrated. What was I missing? I was too smart to be this confused! _What is wrong with you, Kagome?!_

And why was I thinking of that weirdo with the dog ears anyway? Last night was nothing other than him being cryptic and annoying as usual. I feel sad and I don't even know why. I can't think of anyone to call or talk to, and it's Saturday, I won't see any friends at school. I slowly recall more of the things he was talking to me about the previous evening and my headache gets worse.

The jewel. Kikyou. The visions and the déjà vu, it still didn't connect act all and I get awfully upset even trying to consider why. I wish I'd never met him. I wish I'd gone to a different high school instead. I didn't deserve any of this.

I get up and throw on a sweater that was hanging on the back of my desk chair, and slide on some fuzzy moccasins. I don't even have an appetite for breakfast and my mama feels my forehead, looking worried – I feel sad for making _her _sad.

The tea sitting in front of me on the table steams up on my face and wakes me up a little more. I sip it, but only half-heartedly. I head out the door, unable to keep still anymore, still in pajamas, and even my little brother Souta is giving me odd looks. It feels like I'm subconsciously being drawn to something – and I don't know where – but I follow the instinct anyway—

And it leads me to the shrine. I hadn't actually stepped into the closed-off well in a while, it hadn't interested me for a long time; but today…

The Bone-eater's Well lay down in front of the steps leading to the hollowed out place it sat in. I approach it carefully. My head keeps pounding, and I blink hard to try and push it away. There is no ominous feeling surrounding it, but something isn't right either.

As I step up to the well itself, it suddenly lets out a big beam of light – I jump back and fall on my butt onto the stairs, watching the light go up and pass through the roof, and then slowly flicker and ebb away.

I hold onto my chest, feeling my heart pound insanely hard through my sweater, not sure how to process what just happened. Was that some sort of laser someone was shining down from below? Was someone playing tricks on me? ...I'm too scared to approach it again and find out.

Then just as suddenly, the doors to the shrine swing open, and I'm too tired to let out a scream in surprise – but then I wish I had anyway when I see it's Inuyasha. I swear, he is becoming a better stalker than Hojou.

"What was that?!" He demands, looking super serious.

"Why are you on my property again," I ask him, exhausted by now.

"No, what the _fuck_ was that," He asks back, coming inside but not down the steps. "Tell me."

"I-I don't know," I try to explain, not really thinking that keeping it from him would help – but it's not like I had a genuine explanation anyway – "I just felt like the shrine was calling to me somehow, so I came in here to check it out, and then as soon as I got close to the well the light just…exploded out from it—"

"This has got to mean something," He declared roughly, and then he reached down and grabbed my hand, pulling me up from where I was slumped on the bottom step. I cry out a bit as he drags me out of the shrine with him, and then he places me down on the ground, standing in front of me.

I start to back away. "What are you trying to—"

"Get on my back," He commands me, turning around and looking over his shoulder impatiently, his ears held back in irritation. "We're going to find Kikyou."

"But I'm not even dressed," I whine. "Besides, why should I trust you?! How do I know you aren't like, a serial killer, or a kidnapper or something?!"

"You're involved in this whether you like it or not," He snarls. "You have a connection with the jewel obviously. And Kikyou is going to tell me why it's _you _and not _her._"

I frown and wish this all made more sense. Without even thinking about it I climb onto his back and he pulls my legs up and carries me piggy-back style. I feel embarrassed – my shorts are so short and he's technically touching and holding on to my bare thighs…I wish I'd gotten a chance to put on normal clothes, and I can't stop blushing furiously, but then it almost doesn't matter anymore when he starts running so fast I get dizzy.

This couldn't get any weirder. Here I was, riding on the back of some half-dog person, in my pajamas, and then it got even worse when he jumped up into a span of trees, crossing the branches effortlessly.

"What even…_are _you?" I ask, holding onto his shoulders for dear life.

"That's for another time," He tells me, speeding up a bit. He sniffs the air and I feel kind of freaked out. The up-and-down motion of his body and the speed he goes at makes me somewhat nauseous, so I lose the ability to worry about his weird canine condition, and then he jumps down into a clearing in the woods. He lets me down and I stumble off of him, holding onto my stomach with my hand outstretched against his arm for support. _Ugh._

He looks like he wants to ask if I'm ok, then makes a _tch _sound and turns away. He puts his hands around his mouth. "KIKYOU! I know you're here, come out!"

His summoning is rewarded with nothing but silence. He makes a face and kicks the ground. "Damn it," He snarls, crossing his arms. "I knew I caught her scent here. She's always wandering around in this forest anyway."

I control the queasy feeling and stand up, figuring I might as well help out if I was fated to be involved in this whole ordeal. I shout out too, "Kikyou! Please come out, Inuyasha needs to talk to you!"

He yells out her name one more time- "_Kikyou!"_

The urgency in his voice brings back my headache and some more of those sights from before, and the awful nightmare. He turns around and notices me gripping my temples.

"What's going on?"

"I keep…seeing things when you say certain stuff," I try to tell him how it's been that way for me, but it just sounds odd put in words. "And last night…I had this nightmare I was carrying…a bow and arrow…and a man and smoke were coming after me…"

His yellow eyes grow wide and his mouth parts open. "So it's true," He utters, unable to take his imploring gaze off of me.

I look back up at him, and the painful feeling starts to go away the longer I look back. _So it's true? Just what did that mean…?_

Then, we both whip our heads around when we hear the sound of some twigs snapping, and Kikyou steps out, not looking cautious or concerned or anything – her expression is unreadable.

And then I can't help but notice her outfit – she's dressed like a _miko_…why?

"Kikyou, you came," Inuyasha rushes up to her and I could've sworn by now he was suffering from some severe unrequited love. "This chick – uh, Kagome – she had a dream about the other world."

Her eyes seem to perk up slightly. "A dream?" Is all she responds with. "This girl did, you're saying?"

_Um, duh, _I think, but keep my mouth shut.

Inuyasha looks like he wants to grab her hands. "She was carrying a bow and arrow, and—"

"Not another word," Kikyou suddenly shuts him up and I hold my breath. She sounds really scary, saying it like that, and now looking quite angered on top of it all. "This has to be a coincidence. I still haven't discovered what's going on myself, but the one who sent you here, Inuyasha, is hiding somewhere in this world too."

"Why can't you tell me what's going on," He begs. "I have the dreams too. I don't know why I'm here sometimes, why nothing seems familiar anymore."

She looks into his eyes and then that's when I see it too – the feeling _is _mutual…I turn away and feel like I shouldn't be here…yet I wonder why she's been avoiding him in spite of that anyway...

"Keep living as you have, Inuyasha, until I sort this out," She tells him softly, and his eyes lower, his expression illegible. It's almost as though she has him under a spell. Then she turns her gaze to me, and it's definitely not as gentle. "And do not get involved with the girl and her…dreams. She will only be an interference."

"H-hey, wait a minute," I tell her. "Inuyasha has been pestering me _all_ week asking me if I knew you, and asking why I can see you, and telling me I'm _definitely _involved in whatever is going on! You can't just leave me out like that!" I leave out the part where he claimed I looked just like her. My heart races and I feel a flush coming on, not sure why I'm so offended. I want to include it anyway. But it's not like me resembling her was relevant...or was it? The headache returns.

Her face definitely says, _Yes I can. _But she just responds, "You will only interfere."

I suddenly recall Inuyasha's words from before. _Kikyou is going to tell me why it's _you_, and not _her_. _I suddenly get it. It is me, and not her, and she knows that. I inadvertently have the upper hand in something against her, but I don't even know what it is, and I can't help. I'm of no use. It's no surprise she'd be bitter about that if I was able to sense something that she wasn't.

Then why didn't she tell us anyway...?

Inuyasha doesn't attempt to disagree with her any further – she looks at him solemnly one more time, and I almost feel like she wants to reach out and touch him...but then, she turns around, quite literally vanishing into thin air as she walks off.

He sighs exasperatedly, the spell broken it seems, then looks at me, his ears swiveled outwards in an unhappy way. "Come on, I'll take you back to your house." _How enthusiastic you sound, _I think sarcastically.

"How can I just go about the rest of my day without being affected by this," I ask him, upset as ever. "It feels like my whole life is getting flipped upside down!"

"That's just about what _did _happen, I think," He frowns, but it sounds like he's saying that about himself, and not in reply to me.

* * *

I sullenly jump onto his back, resenting the closeness of his body to mine. He flies through the trees again, and I get this odd nostalgic feeling like I've done this once before, so I'm not scared anymore. When we get back to my house, he lets me down and we're in front of the _goshinboku _– for whatever reason, at the sight of it I burst into tears, and for the life of me I don't know why.

"Whoa, wait," He looks really freaked out and holds his hands up like he's getting arrested, trying to reach out to touch me (as though he's capable of comforting, what a joke), but pulling away in alarm like I'm a ticking bomb. "W-why are you crying? What the hell? Stop!"

"You'd BETTER take responsibility for doing this to me!" I shout at him, thanking God we're far enough away from my home for my family to not hear any of this. "I just wanted to live a normal life and get good grades, and now I don't even know who I am anymore!"

His ears are pinned back submissively, but that betrays his furious facial expression. "You're not the only one," He snaps. "I was drawn to the goddamn tree just like you were drawn to the well. I wake up every day and still haven't known what the FUCK is going on – other than the fact that _everything _is wrong."

His jaw tightens, and then he glares at me for a while as I try to stop my tears from overflowing. I glare back at him. This is all his fault. If he'd just left me alone it never would've gotten to this point. I want to rip my eyes away, yet somehow, I can't.

"I hate to say this," Inuyasha then starts after a while-"But I think Kikyou is wrong about you. You had the dream. It was real."

_It was real…? _"I DON'T CARE!" I yell even louder. "I don't want anything more to do with this!"

He shocks me by grabbing the sides of my arms and giving me a shake, shouting back, "Kagome, you don't have a _choice!_"

I press my mouth together hard to prevent a sob from escaping my lips, and feel more tears pour down my cheeks just after I thought they'd stopped. He looks at me, making a really pained face, and then lets go of his grip and hurries up the tree, and I hear the sounds of leaves and branches rustling as he runs away.

_Coward, _I think to myself, rubbing my eyes on the sleeves of my sweater and heading back inside. I randomly remember then the date that Hojou had asked me on, and I figure I just won't respond to his message I know he's sent by now. Obviously I'm not in the mood for stupid boys anymore anyway, I'd had enough in the past 24 hours as it was.

"Kagome! Are you ok?" My mama comes up to me and puts her hand on my shoulder, looking at my face. Jii-chan, sitting at the table reading the paper, turns to look at me and what's going on.

"Yeah," I force a grin. "Just really bad allergies!" I brush her off lightly and head towards the stairs to go back to my room. "Haha, you know how I get!"

I go up into my room and cry some more to get it all out, feeling like I'm mourning the time I've had on this earth, and this new sudden impending fate of mine. _Kagome, you don't have a choice!_

"Yes I do," I sob to myself.

But I knew just as well as my mama had known – that I was lying.


	5. Chapter 5

Monday comes around, as it predictably always does, in all of its bad Monday ways, and it had to be a rainy day, too, of course. I get ready for school in slow motion, making sure I pull on some long socks to keep my legs warm and whatnot with all the wetness outside. These uniforms for girls are useless at that. I shrug a cardigan around my shoulders and force myself to eat breakfast – shocked I'm actually going to be on time.

Maybe I'm just dreading seeing Inuyasha again. Maybe that was definitely not a _maybe. _I could come up with as many excuses as I wanted, and still know the truth. Denying it was silly.

But was denying what was in store for me silly, too? _What you don't know won't hurt you, _is all that echoes through my head.

For once I catch a bus to school instead of walking or running – since for once, I have the time. I try to smooth my hair down with my hands on the way there and it doesn't work – it's a frizzy, rain-ruined mess. I wish I'd had a hat. Or even a paper-bag to keep on my head.

But if he was part dog after all, he'd just smell me out anyway.

How freaking weird…I found myself wondering throughout the ride what I even smelled like to him in the first place. _Ugh! Let it go, Kagome!_

When I get to school, my three best friends all somehow find me like they'd been waiting for me.

"Kagome!" Eri exclaims, looking me up and down in a concerned manner. "We hadn't heard from you all weekend, so we were worried," She tells me.

"How was your date with Hojou-kun?!" Yuka asks right away.

How did they even know I was supposed to have a date? I laugh and wave it away and let them follow me to homeroom. "Oh, I got too busy with errands and homework, ya know, the usual."

"That boy's tenacity should prove something to you by now," Ayumi scolds me.

"I've gotta hurry and finish some homework before my next period," I lie to them, rushing into the room as soon as they walk up to the door with me. "I'll see you guys at lunch!"

They all have exclaimed looks on their faces as I shut the door behind me, exhaling heavily from the freedom and holding one of my books to my chest tightly as I do. No one else in the room is here yet, which I am_ so_ grateful for.

A few more people shuffle in as the minutes go by, and Miroku walks in a little later, and Sango right after him. He notices me and grins – I wonder if I'm forgiven for ditching his party – and Sango grabs the seat next to mine.

"Kagome! How was your weekend?"

"Ugh, awful," I sigh. I lay out the stuff I need for class on my desk but I know for a fact I'll be too distracted to take any notes.

"Let's play hooky for lunch and talk about it together," Sango says, looking unhappy to hear my response. "Mine was lame too."

"If you two had stayed at my party, it'd have been much, _much _better," Miroku overhears us and winks.

"Oh shuddup, you perv," Sango rolls her eyes.

"Oh?" Miroku just looks even more interested at her insult. I wonder how nothing ever discourages him? "You don't quite know if I'm _really_ a pervert or not, Sango, but would you like to find out? Maybe let me prove myself to you?"

"Gross," She just mutters, forcing a smile away, looking at me with this face that says, _Poor thing. He's pitiful._

I return the same look and want to laugh, but then Inuyasha walks in and the laugh leaves me. He's wearing his beanie like usual, and I wonder how he keeps his ears so neatly tucked away under it. I then realize how strange it is that I know some weird aspect of how he looks that no one else here does, and I feel a strange kind of shame, and I blush.

He notices my face but doesn't say anything, he just sits behind me like he has every day so far. I hear him sigh, but nothing else. Sango and Miroku are bickering together now. _Why can't they just make out and get it over with? _I slump in my seat, keeping my shoulders together to try and make myself as small as possible.

Inuyasha doesn't try to talk to me or pick any fights like usual, and somehow I almost want the attention – but that's so hypocritical of me.

The rain drones on, and nearly puts me to sleep in each and every class of mine.

When lunch rolls around, Sango somehow manages to find me in the midst getting my lunch box out of my locker, and she puts a finger to her mouth to tell me to stay quiet. I look around at the bustling crowds of students and nod. She must have found a cool and secret place.

I follow her to one of the doors way down and around the hallway, in some sort of alcove where a lot of the faculty offices are – she looks around, as stealthy as a ninja, and pulls some keys out of the front of her shirt. She unlocks one of the doors and pushes me in through it first before coming behind me and shutting it silently and quickly, then leads me up a staircase with another door at the top.

She puts the keys in again and opens it – I'm surprised to find us on the top of the roof of the school. Just like how they do in anime! How amusing.

We sit underneath a little awning above the door we'd just exited. I gaze up above the mesh fence around the perimeters of the roof, wishing there was a prettier blue sky I could be admiring instead. I turn my attention back to Sango - she pulls her lunch out of her own bag, and there's a little post-it note attached to the front – she lifts it off and reads it, giggling.

"My little brother Kohaku likes to write dumb jokes on these and put them on my lunch before I leave for school," She laughs.

"Aw, that's so cute," I giggle too and read it as she shows me. It was a really bad pun – classic.

"Anyways," She sets it aside briefly. "What about your weekend was so bad?"

"You're so nice for offering to listen to me," I tell her first and foremost, feeling a little guilty, randomly.

"Well, I come here every day for lunch anyway," She shrugs nonchalantly. "You seemed like you wanted to get away and I thought, why not. So go on."

I hesitate for a moment before just deciding to go with it. I feel like I can trust her.

"Basically…ok, my problem is that I don't _know _what the problem_ actually_ is," I start to explain what's going on…but it's so hard. "I keep having…flashbacks. Memories. And Inuyasha is trying to get me involved in something I don't feel ready for."

She puts a hand on my arm and her face is furious. "Oh my god, I had no idea he was _that _type! What a despicable guy. You need to leave him. Like, now."

I realize right away she misunderstands me and cover my mouth, blushing hard. "Oh no no, not like that! _God_, no! It's actually really…hard to put into words…but it's _not _like that, I swear." I laugh nervously and push my hair out of my face, feeling hot from embarrassment. "But, he says apparently there's something in this world that shouldn't be here…and I'm involved somehow."

Sango furrows her brows, but lets me go on.

"There's this…girl he knows…that comes around here and there…but no one else can actually _see_ her except for us, and she knows the secret behind what's wrong. I keep having these moments of déjà vu, especially whenever he says certain things, and I've felt it around you too, Sango, and it randomly comes and goes but it's been getting stronger…"

She nods for me to keep going even after I've paused, clearly having a hard time articulating this. I don't know how she still looks so interested in my blabbering. "I started having dreams, too…of stuff I feel like I know, but that in reality, I don't. Jeez, I'm sorry, Sango. This is all so weird and I know I'm not making any sense but—"

"No, Kagome, you are," She says, looking totally serious. "I've been having the same thing too. I get it around you, and Miroku, and I think I've also seen that girl you're talking about…when I saw some people pass her in the hallway and just go through her like a ghost, I've been feeling freaked out ever since."

I just stare at her, my mouth gaping open. _How could this be?_ I suddenly remember her asking me at that party Miroku had on Friday night, if we'd met before, and it suddenly made sense. I believe her instantly.

"Have you talked to Miroku about it?"

"No…I feel like I maybe should, but I totally don't want him to think it's ok for him to start hitting on me or something if I try!"

"If you get that weird trippy feeling around him, and me, wouldn't he around us, too?" I suddenly realize, and she stares at me like we've both had an epiphany.

"You said that Inuyasha told you why things are like this?" She implores. "Like he knew something about that…thing, that's wrong with the world? And with us? Has he told you why?"

"He knows more about it than me, and he said he's had dreams, too, but that's all I know," I sigh, feeling like I was in too deep - on a whole other level.

"How _did_ you two even talk in the first place!"

"Well…" I cover my eyes, knowing she won't believe me. "He was outside my house the night we left the party," I start, and her face lights up in surprise but I shake my hands at her, "No no no, it was a huge and _really_ terrible coincidence, I swear! I live at a shrine, you see, and there's a huge sacred tree on our lot, and he was in it for some reason, and that night I was standing below the tree and he noticed me…"

"That's sooo weird," She says, still shocked. "You _sure_ he didn't follow you home just to try and make a move?"

I remember when he put his hand on my face, and I'm still flushing furiously, but I shake my head intensely. "No! He told me he sits in that tree all the time anyway without knowing I live there – yes, I knooww, I didn't believe him either – but he said he wanted to talk once and for all – and that he was convinced I had something to do with it – along with the ghost girl, Kikyou."

I feel like it's too soon for me to mention how Inuyasha brought me with him to see her. It's like I wasn't even necessary for that at all.

"Ugh," Sango sighs, looking up at the grey clouds. "This is so much to take in. But somehow I knew something was happening that…wasn't right, to say the least. I'm glad I'm not the only one."

We look at each other in deep understanding, and then eat our lunches in silence.

* * *

When the end of the day finally arrives, my mind is blurrier than I've ever known it could be. The rain still hasn't stopped, either, and I just want to go home and space out for the remainder of the evening. I end up missing the bus on my way back home, and I don't have an umbrella, yet I don't want to wait for the next bus, either – like it doesn't even occur to me…

I stand out at the back of the school, exiting in a fashion as to where it'd be harder for Inuyasha to find me. I watch the rain pour down, and wonder if I'll stick around to see it lighten up, but it's as though it intensifies at the thought.

I sigh, wondering why I had to bring this upon myself. I could have just rushed home without worrying about whether I was going to get stopped or not. I totally could've dealt with it. I was just being a coward.

Sango's words from earlier roll around in my head and make my temples throb. I start to wonder if there are any shortcuts I can take from school when suddenly someone across the yard catches my eye – _Inuyasha!_

I am shocked that I notice him before he notices me. I know for sure from this distance he probably could scent me out, with his weird abilities and whatnot, but instead he is making his way slowly yet determinedly elsewhere…

I let my eyes gaze ahead in the direction he walks in and then my heart jumps. It's Kikyou. What is she doing here…? She has her back against a wall, hands behind the small of her back, eyes locked with his from that distance, and I move away further so I can hide behind a pillar and not risk getting spotted.

He approaches her gently, his shoulders not all bared out like usual – his features are blurry from here but I can tell his face doesn't have its usual annoyed look about it. His hands reach out to touch the sides of her face and I gasp, for some reason drawing my own hand to my cheek as he does. Remembering when he did that to me. I wonder if there's any feeling of touching, or any sensation at all, with a ghost. _What would I know?_

I feel my jaw drop when he embraces her in his arms, with such fervor I can almost feel it even from this distance. She does not hug him back right away, but when she does I can't help but notice how desperately tight their hands are gripping onto each other. My heart sinks all the way down into the cement floor and I watch for a while before turning away, not sure why I suddenly feel sick to my stomach or why I want to cry or why I even care! What was wrong with me, purposely sticking around to watch them?!

I don't wait around any longer to see if they're kissing or not by now. I hurry away, not sure why I had to be in such a wrong place at the most wrong time ever. _Nice, _I think to myself bitterly.

_That's what I get for trying to wait out the storm. It just gets worse._


	6. Chapter 6

For the rest of the week I try to avoid Inuyasha. But at the same time, I am so distracted by him, I can't focus on school, either. He is everywhere in the halls, and whenever we make eye contact, his gaze is no longer so sharp…in fact, it seems softer than ever, and it sends chills down my spine each time.

Sango and I skip lunch together every day now, and Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka keep calling home to find out what's wrong. Thankfully my grandfather always has some excuse for me being sick, so that's worked best so far.

On Thursday, Miroku approaches Sango and I in the hallway after the day ends. I wonder if he intends to talk to us about the feeling we've been sharing – but instead, it is an invitation to another party this weekend.

"I promise it won't suck," He insists, looking very earnest. "Please come! I won't waste my time on all the other girls – I'll try to make sure everyone's happy."

Sango looks surprised and her features soften – I smile a little, starting to see some good in him for the first time. We all just kind of grin at each other for a while, and it's as though him being in on the situation doesn't need to be said, it's just understood.

As he walks away, Sango turns to me. "I talked to him about it," She says in a very secret way. There is a hint of excitement to her voice I haven't heard before.

"Ah! You did?"

"You were right, Kagome, he's gotten that feeling too, around both of us – just like you said."

"I wonder if Inuyasha knows now, too," I wonder out loud, then feel humiliated. Why am I even thinking of him anyway?! Not like I wanted to talk to him in the first place—

Then, almost as if speaking of the devil, it's not him who walks by – but Kikyou – she passes us without even glancing our way. I know she knows I am here. I sigh, and the bitter feeling from thinking of Inuyasha leaves me and is replaced with an unfamiliar sadness.

"Let's go to Miroku's party again," Sango moves on from my musings and looks up out one of the windows. "I'm not sure why. But I have a good feeling about it this time."

"Well, if he's as popular as he is, he'll have figured out how to throw a good party by now, I'd think," I try to reason, wishing I could feel as hopeful as Sango does.

Was there something else not being addressed that she'd discussed with him? Somehow, her attitude about him feels…lighter.

We then say goodbye and part ways, and as I head home my head is full of images of Kikyou and Inuyasha embracing from earlier in the week and I want desperately to forget about it all. I let my gaze fall over the athletic fields down the hill as I leave the building, and notice there is an archery team here for the first time.

Huh…I never knew that. How neat.

I stand there and watch them for a while – some are novices, it seems, others are amateurs. I admire the form their figures take as they position the arrows taut across the string of the bow – I imagine myself doing the same thing and my heart races uncontrollably. I feel some muscle memory get triggered at the thought, and it compels me to go closer to get a better look. The sound of the arrows going _thhhunk _into the targets has me reeling.

The coach, or instructor or whatever, notices me. "Did you come to sign up, miss?" She asks coolly, keeping her eyes on the students.

"No…" But still I watch, starry-eyed anyway.

I remember the nightmare from a while back where I'd been shooting arrows and catch my breath. "Um, excuse me, I'm sorry," I approach the instructor, "I don't know if I want to join…but would it be possible for me to try shooting an arrow? Like, just once?"

She raises her brows. "Hmm? Well…I guess that wouldn't hurt…if you like it maybe you can sign up, we need more members anyway…Natsumi, would you mind letting this girl borrow your equipment for a second?"

One of the girls perks her head up, and looks a little surprised and confused but comes over and hands me her bow and arrow anyway.

"Are you going to join the archery club?" She asks, very friendly.

I don't reply as I take the bow and arrow from her into my hands. It feels as though it is quavering, but maybe that's just my fingers. In a trance, I walk past her and over to where she'd stood, positioning the arrow perpendicular to the string like I ought to.

I keep my eye on the target for a while, judging the strength I'd need. I pull back the string and let the arrow go flying, almost as if on instinct, and my jaw hits the floor as I watch it zoom across the air and hit the target dead center.

I turn around and look over at the instructor and the girl I'd borrowed the bow from. They look just as shocked I feel, but before they can talk to me I feel my body get overwhelmed from all the sensations happening within me, and so I run away, dropping the bow on the ground and getting away as fast as possible, not sure why that felt so wrong…but so…right.

I rush up the hill and as I do, I glance over at the school building – to my surprise, I see someone sitting up at the top of the roof, actually, no, lying down on their side, and when I see the white hair of course I know it's Inuyasha…

I stand there for a few moments just staring up at him. This intense longing feeling takes over me and for the life of me I don't know why. He is looking down at me like his eyes have been on me this whole time, and after a while the heartrending pain becomes too much to bear, and so I turn away to go home once and for all.

I hadn't even told Sango. I refused. But more than anything, the last person who could know was Inuyasha himself – that of all the dreams my mind conjured up at night lately, they had all been involving him.

* * *

On Friday evening I sit at my desk with my table mirror in front of me, blow-drying my hair carefully so that it's smooth and silky after the luxurious shower I'd just taken. As I get ready for Miroku's second party of the semester, I feel a little bummed out as always that I don't have a cell phone so I can let him know when I'm on the way.

Someone knocks on my door and I turn the blow drier off. It's my Mama, and she's holding up a bag that seems to be for me.

"Kagome, I went out today to run some errands and did a bit of shopping around," She blinks happily. "I was mostly looking for some things for myself, but I saw this and thought of you!"

She comes in and sets in on my bed. "If you don't like it, it's ok," She smiles. "Jii-chan just mentioned you were going out, too, so I thought it'd be perfect."

"Aww, Mama, thank you," I gush. She waves it off like it's no big deal, still smiling, and closes my door. I hurry to finish my hair so I can check out what's in the bag.

As soon as I do I jump up and throw it open, and pull out a really pretty dress in this super trendy mauve-y pink color – it's not formal by any means, if anything, it's only a simple little t-shirt dress – but it's just my style, and I blush excitedly at the thought of getting to wear it, and how good I'd look. My mama knew me so well!

I rip the tag off and put it on, choosing a nice pair of lace-up shoes to go with it. It has comfy longish sleeves that end at the elbow, and since the weather is still warm, I know I won't need a sweater on top. I grab a little shoulder bag off the edge of my chair, and throw in just a few things I thought I might need for going out – the house is full of compliments as I leave – and I head out the door feeling prettier than ever!

When I get to Miroku's house, he's practically glowing – but we all know he does in the presence of any girl. "Come in, come in," He holds the door open for me and shuts it behind.

"Kagome!" Sango calls my name. She looks me up and down. "You look so cute!"

"Thanks!" I grin. I can tell a few more people are checking me out and I feel a little shy, but mostly proud. I wonder to myself if Inuyasha is already here, or if he will be, like last time, but I try to force the thought out of my head.

Sango pats my shoulder. "I'll be right back," She tells me, then disappears.

I go for some of the juice on the coffee table, remembering how Sango and I had been questioning if it was spiked or not last time, and kind of laugh to myself. I hold the cup to my chest and sip at it carefully as I people-watch around the rooms. It didn't _taste _like it had alcohol in it or anything.

I glance around some more to take it all in. Wow…did Miroku's parents not care if the place was stuffed to the brim with people like this?

_Or were they not even here?!_

Miroku was one of the really popular guys at school anyway, I try to tell myself, this isn't anything unusual really…if anything, I'm amazed I'm even invited – was this my debut of being popular at high school, too?!

Then, someone taps on my shoulder and I expect it to be Sango or Miroku, but instead it's a guy I don't recognize.

He's quite tan, with good bone structure and surprisingly bright blue eyes. His hair is long and black…and his teeth, sharp.

I almost feel a little intimidated. "Uh, hello? Do I know you?"

"I'm Kouga," He grabs my hand and shakes it. "What's your name?"

"I-I'm Kagome," I laugh nervously.

He starts to chat me up a storm and I grow increasingly wary. He seems like the type of good-looking dude who takes advantage of that to get girls, and his vibes are overall friendly and sincere, yet anyway, I can't help it.

Then as I glance around, my heart shoots up into my throat when I make eye contact with Inuyasha across the kitchen. He is standing against the side of the doorway, sipping from a beer bottle. His eyes are on me intent as ever, just like yesterday, outside school…like how he looks at Kikyou…

I feel sad all of a sudden. He's only looking at me like that because I resemble her somehow. Not because of how I'm dressed, or because I'm me.

I force my attention back to Kouga – now he's talking about trying to get out of here, heavily implying I should too. I stare at Inuyasha from across the room, locking my eyes with his desperately. Why do I even expect him to help?! Oh God. This is what my mother always warned me about with parties, I should have never come here in the first place—

"Oy, lay off," Inuyasha is suddenly here next to me and not across the room anymore and I gasp. Kouga is as tall as him…they're both really tall, actually, it's kind of scary…and they glare at each other for a while.

"What, she your girlfriend or something?" Kouga sneers.

"Hell no," Inuyasha snarls back, "I just can't _stand _creeps like you getting all up in girl's faces like that! She's only a freshman, like, come _on_, you sick fuck."

"You can best bet this won't be my last attempt, you fucking dog," Kouga growls and stalks off. I know he means dog in just an insulting way but jeez, is it relevant. I wonder if he knows about the ears like me…but, ahem, anyways.

"Um, thanks," I tell Inuyasha, gripping onto my drink a little more, feeling my heart race even harder now that he's standing so close.

"Why're you thanking me?" He mutters. "He was just pissing me off! Had nothin' to do with you."

"Ok, if you say so," I sigh, disappointed, turning away. Just for once I'd hoped he could be nice. How wrong could I have been? I take a sip from my cup and glance up at him, noticing he's glaring away, his cheeks sort of red. I realize it's somewhat odd for us to be talking after I was crying in rage the last time we did speak.

He is still blushing the more I look up at him. Is he just buzzed? It can't have been because of me. He glances down and notices I'd been staring and we both look away, embarrassed.

"Kagome, do you remember anything yet?" He looks at me again. I start to get a warm feeling in my stomach. Was this punch spiked after all? This was so unlike me, I'm the type to totally avoid alcohol like the plague – yet why did I not care now?

"Remember anything?" I repeat, unsure what he means…he sighs.

"I guess you don't yet."

"Just what am I supposed to remember?"

"It was meant to be," He starts, and I feel like I'm going into cardiac arrest until he continues, "I saw you shoot that arrow yesterday and knew it was meant for you. You don't remember doing that at all?!"

"I was just randomly compelled to do it," I utter under my breath, kind of annoyed now that he seems to be expecting something from me, but won't even say what it is.

"God damn it," He moans in frustration, spinning around so his back slams against the wall and is next to me, rather than facing me. He drinks some more of the beer and I sort of judge him a bit for drinking in the first place.

"So the jewel? The arrows? None of it rings a bell?"

"Is it _supposed _to?!" I shout, getting mad now. "Apparently if this whole thing you're telling me I'm involved in is something I'm supposed to remember by now, then why don't I, huh?!"

"Miroku got his memory back," He snarls, almost as though he's hushing me to keep my voice lower, too. "I don't know about your friend Sango's memory, but Miroku said she can see Kikyou too, so she _must_ be in on it also—"

"Oh yeah? Then what about _you!"_

He looks taken aback at my words and stares at me for a really long time. His eyes are wide at first, then his eyelids lower. When he makes this expression I feel alarmed, noticing for the first time he actually _is _kind of attractive…especially with those honey-colored eyes…

"I can't tell you that yet, Kagome."

My head spins around and I swear if it's not his fault, it's the stupid punch. I stare at him helplessly. The dreams and all, they must mean something, or nothing at all. All this talk about a jewel. The world not being in its right state. Kikyou warning me that I'm only a hindrance. Ah, that's right. I must be drunk. I've been drunk since high school started and I'll just wake up tomorrow and be okay—

"There might be something I can do to make you remember," Inuyasha then interrupts my train of thought and I look up at him, waiting for him to go on.

He's still blushing, weirdly enough…but…he appears more serious than ever. He's looking at me the same way he looks at Kikyou. My heart soars as though it's a form of praise.

"Ok," I decide to give in, and he takes me by the wrist, and leads me away.


	7. Chapter 7

_(Hi readers! Quick note here before you begin, just in case if when you get to the end, you're freaking out - do not worry! I know this chapter reads like it's the end of my series, but trust me, it most definitely is not ;) xx)_

* * *

Inuyasha leads me through the crowds of other teenagers at Miroku's party and I follow helplessly, starting to think he's going to assist me in leaving the house entirely, but instead we pass the front door and he takes me up the flight of stairs. I glance around nervously, but no one pays us any attention. My heart pounds so hard in my chest, it hurts. Is this the beginning to what I _think _it is?

I think about opening my mouth and screaming. I think about slapping his face the moment he turns around. I think about kicking him in the crotch and running for my life. I think of about a hundred different outcomes to this situation as he takes me into a secluded room, still questioning myself even to this day as to why I didn't just run like hell out of there!

But instead of what I think will happen _actually_ happening, I do not need to save myself – he simply sits down on the mattress in this bedroom after closing the door behind us and reaches in his pocket – he does not attempt to touch me or grab me or anything. I'm a bit dumbfounded, not sure if I was dreading or expecting that result – watching him with confusion as he fumbles around in his clothes for whatever he was looking for.

He pulls out a little round jewel, then. He holds it out in front of my face as I hesitantly come closer. He stares at me carefully, like he is waiting for a certain reaction…I gaze at it curiously, not sure what I'm _supposed _to be seeing. It seems to be glowing, but that has to just be the lighting in here.

"What is it?" I ask finally.

"This is the _shikon no tama,_" He mutters. "I'm actually not supposed to have it. I stole it from Kikyou to see if my suspicion about you was right or not."

He looks really disappointed, actually, his whole face contorted with upset. "Are you feeling anything?" He rolls it around in his palm softly. The light shimmers some more and although it's very pretty, I just don't know how to respond.

"Maybe tell me more about it, and I might," I ask quietly, somehow feeling bummed out by ruining his expectations. It made me want to fight to prove myself. I would _make _myself feel something about it if I had to!

"Well…" He scratches his head with his free hand, now actually appearing annoyed for real. "It came from…the other world. Where we – or uh, I – am from, as Kikyou mentions those who're involved are." He sighs in frustration. "Once this jewel is complete, you can make any wish on it…as was done once before, and what lead to everything getting fucked up and becoming upside down in the first place."

"I don't get it," I whine. "Are you pretending you don't know everything about what happened between that world and here, or is that really the case? If so, do Sango and Miroku know about the jewel?!"

Inuyasha frowns, but it seems I pushed the right button. "Why the hell would I pretend?!" He sounds so hurt I almost wish I'd kept my mouth shut.

I get angry though, also, for his lack of patience with me, and snatch the jewel out of his hand to get a better look. But then, the moment I touch it, I feel a strong pulsation through my body and it starts to feel hot and cold at the same time. It glows intensely – and just as quickly as the sensation passes through my body, it leaves, and I fall down to my knees on the floor, my mind full of thoughts I never knew possible. It feels like all the energy has been entirely sucked out of me.

Yet again, the memories of shooting arrows and running around in forests come back, and I squeeze the jewel hard with one hand and cover my eyes with the other, the now familiar headache coming back stronger than ever before. I hear my own voice screaming in the far off distance, echoing, _Inuyasha! Inuyashaaaa!_

It feels like trying to shove a square shaped block into a spherical hole. Something is stopping me from getting the whole picture. Before I know it, before I can even try to stop myself, the jewel falls out of my hands, and I'm sobbing.

Inuyasha snatches the jewel off the floor and puts it back in his shirt pocket, looking at me with a freaked out face.

"Kagome, did you remember?!"

I just keep crying, knowing my heart understands somehow…but my mind doesn't, or just won't; it refuses. I can't respond to him. I notice him come down to the floor where I kneel but I still can't bring myself to really look into his eyes again.

"D-don't cry," He tells me gruffly. "Come on! Stop," He takes my shoulders and gives me a light shake but even though I've stopped bawling there are tears still falling down my cheeks and he lets go, just staring at me helplessly.

"You saw anything?" He tries asking again.

"It's like having memories from another lifetime," I finally manage to choke out, forcing myself to look into his eyes. I hadn't seen when he took his beanie off and his ears are held back disconcertedly. But his facial expression is…so…

"That's exactly what it is," Inuyasha replies, uncharacteristically quiet. "Someone sealed away that part of you. That someone who is responsible for us getting sent here. But this means…I was right."

_Of course, _I think to myself with a bitter and aching heart. _When would you let yourself be wrong?_

"…If I'm right," He continues, now seeming more serious than ever – "There's…one more thing I can try. Just one more thing."

I look at him desperately, wishing more than anything to get out of this hell. If it meant my life as I'd known it would revert back to what he was implying it had always been in another dimension, with the sealing away of my memory and what not – I'd be ok with anything.

I wipe my face with my sleeve, swallowing all the bad emotions away, and give him a slight nod, ready for whatever.

His ears flatten even further against his head, and I swear he looks embarrassed now, but maybe that was just the shadow going across his features as he gets closer – hey, wait a second—

He grabs the sides of my face and then suddenly kisses me, roughly, urgently. My heart practically bursts out of my ribcage at the feeling of his hands gripping my cheeks, his mouth on mine shockingly soft and gentle in spite of how firmly he does the kissing, no, wait, _why do I care about how soft it is!_

Is this _really_ what I needed?! According to him, I supposed so, but after a few more seconds of my heart panicking about my first kiss being taken like this, I shove him off of me as hard as I can, sending him facedown into the carpet.

"Wh-wh-WHAT WAS THAT!" I scream at him, scrubbing my lips hard on my arm, but my mouth is full of the taste of his no matter what I do.

He forces himself up and shouts back, "I thought it would work!" He sounds so angry and hurt that I pull away, concerned more about him than myself now. "For fucking weeks I was _so_ sure I could help you remember that way! God DAMN it!"

His face is red and he stands up. I scramble to stand up too, my face burning. "If you were soOOoo sure, then why didn't it, huh?!"

I can't stop blushing, though. _For weeks you were thinking of doing this to me?! _

His furious expression dissipates into that same gentle one from earlier once more when he makes himself look back down at me, and he grabs me and kisses me _again! _

I try to bang on his chest with my fists as he does it, but his arms pull me in too tight and I can't physically resist him. But I can't let myself give in either. I keep my eyes open wide and struggle anyway, but then with one of his hands across my back and the other going up to hold the back of my head, it's like I start to melt, and I hate how good the embrace feels.

Then…I decide to close my eyes anyway. Maybe it would help, but I hated helping him be right about me like this. I grip onto the front of his shirt hard, nervous as hell, and in the moment I totally relax I suddenly feel a hot and bright white light flood the inside of my mind. The last feeling of déjà vu explodes into a story book of every memory I'd almost recalled, but never fully did. It feels like putting in the last piece of a puzzle.

I push him away, panting hard, trying to get myself together. His dark brows furrow, but he removes one of his hands and puts it on the wall above my head, waiting for me to explain myself.

"I remember," I gasp, feeling shivers go down my spine. "The jewel! The other world beyond the well! Inuyasha…I remember it all now!"

His eyes go wide. "Did you really?! Do you now?"

"That's why I hit the target with the arrow yesterday," I gasp out. "That's why – oh my God, Sango and Miroku – do they know?! And me! In the _sengoku jidai…_Inuyasha, I was—"

He's looking at me with what I couldn't mistake as anything but…happiness.

"I was with you there," I exhale, relieved it all made sense. I now know why he'd never left my mind. That was how it'd always been. With the _goshinboku,_ eons ago, where'd I'd met him. Finding the shards of the jewel together as a team.

"But why are we here, in my world now?!" I ask, now really worried. "All four of us…and Kikyou—"

He's ready to reply I can tell, but I cut him off. "Wait a second. I _saw _you hugging her after school the other day, so what's with all this now?! And why were you so mean to me when school started!"

"I-I can explain," He growls back at me. "All of it! Just hear me out, okay?"

I make a face at him and cross my arms, and wait.

"I…didn't get my memory back at first - that was the side effect of what happened, getting forced into this world the way it worked out. Just like with you now, it came out of nowhere."

"Out of nowhere? This just now wasn't something from out of _nowhere,_" I mutter, unable to distract myself from how my lips and cheeks are still burning. "What made you remember?"

I suddenly remember Kikyou and I cover my mouth in shock. "Don't tell me you—"

"NO!" He shouts at me. "It was a dream for me that brought back my memory, I swear to fucking God. I didn't do with her like you just now!"

_Just now doesn't mean never…_I think, feeling sore just at the idea.

"But you never kissed me like that when we were in the feudal era," I point out, now kind of sad. "Is there something I'm missing out on still? How much time has passed?"

"…I don't know exactly," Inuyasha sighs. "A while. We all just woke up one day living here as though it was perfectly natural. But Kikyou came into this world too somehow, so I kept going to her after she found me first, but that was before I remembered everything with _you_, Kagome, that's why I kissed y—"

"When _exactly _did you get your memory back?" I demand, cutting him off. This would tell me if he was lying, even though deep down, I _knew_ he wasn't - I just...I just knew he wasn't about to describe her as his ex, even if that's what it really was...

"It was some time shortly before the last party here that Miroku had. Look, it was Naraku who did this to us all, obviously. And if you're the last to get your memory back, then it was clearly _you _he was targeting. Just…why are the rest of us here also?!"

I sigh inwardly. I can't help but trust his simple attitude, especially with the remembrance of our mutual feelings, but then I start to remember the rest, too.

"Your sword!" I gasp. "Your _tetsusaiga! _Where is it!"

His eyes go wide. "…Fuck," He breathes out, "I haven't had it with me since-!"

"Oh no! That means Miroku's _kazaana_ too, and Sango – wait…why haven't we found Shippou yet?! Ohmygod. We _have _to go look for him!"

"Tomorrow," Inuyasha interrupts me.

I go quiet. He's right...they're fine for now.

I take in all his adoring features now as I've always remembered them – understanding why he'd been so rude the first few weeks at school, just like how it'd been the first time I crossed over to his world in the past through the well. We didn't even know who we were, and that saddened me so to think of it that way. All the times he'd saved me, carried me on his back, saved my life.

And to think, for this long, we had been strangers.

"Tomorrow we'll look for Shippou?" I ask softly, missing that little fox kid, feeling my eyes fill with tears again.

"Yeah. For sure."

He reaches for me and pulls me into his arms – I'm a little surprised, but after being apart for so long without even knowing, I'm grateful. He breathes into my hair deeply and all of the maddening thoughts I've carried until now are put to rest.

"Inuyasha…"

"Hm."

"It must've been so difficult for you, keeping up that act like you didn't know me."

He tightens his embrace. In my heart, I forbid him to ever let go of me again. What were the chances all five of us would inevitably end up in the same decade? The same lifetime? The same city? No matter what evil befell us, I was as convinced as ever nothing could tear us apart – no matter how much time passed by.

"...God...you have no idea."


	8. Chapter 8

_(Quick note yet again - hang in there guys, I promise that this chapter, although tantalizing, will allude to all the juicy stuff yet to come in future installments! xx)_

* * *

The outside world beyond this room that Inuyasha and I are sharing seems to ebb and fade away; like with each passing moment after our reunion, it grows more and more distant. All the unpleasant feelings in my body until now just feel like a bad memory I've successfully shrugged off, like a heavy and suffocating overcoat being shed to welcome spring.

Naraku's curse placed on the jewel sent us here, into my world. How could that have been, though? If Kohaku was alive in this world, and the jewel had been completed, how was Kikyou, or…her ghostly body, rather, able to go through the well, too?

Even though it all was starting to make sense…it still didn't make any sense at all.

If that makes sense.

Hah. I try to bring my attention back to where we are, to take it in even more. It occurs to me again for the first time since we'd entered that we're alone in here with the door closed. I remember the beer he was drinking downstairs, that bottle now sitting on a nightstand next to this mattress where we are sitting and where he is holding me.

My face turns bright red. I have to keep reminding myself, that this is _this _world, not his, this is the modern century, Inuyasha had assumedly been here long enough to know how different it was from the feudal era in terms of-!

Aaahh! I don't even know if I can _think_ about it, much less _handle_ the idea of it!

Although I still didn't know his actual age, since he's a half-demon and all, he probably would be the equivalent of, like, a senior here in this day and age…I guess him drinking at a party makes total sense…but having been over in the _sengoku jidai _for so long where he avoided sake like the plague, it made me wonder what else he'd been exposed to, to modernize him in such a way.

Yikes. The thought of Miroku having unrestricted internet access makes me cringe.

But…with the two of us at a high school party like this, it's almost like any romantic daydream could easily be a reality. All the times back before our memories were erased, I remember all the fantasies I'd had of meeting him here in my world instead, and all the different things we could do, but he could _never _know that!

"Your heart is beating really hard," He mutters softly.

"It's nothing," I try to dismiss him, but he pulls me up and looks at me with an irritated frowny face. Classic Inuyasha expression.

"Oy. What're you thinking about?"

"It's _nothing!" _I insist. God, isn't it bad enough we're alone like this?! Who knew _what _he was thinking, especially after committing a kiss like that from moments ago! When he'd never done that in the other world, here, it seemed all too easy to get carried away…

Shouldn't a girl be ecstatic to be alone in a room with her crush all to herself?!

I notice then for the first time how funny it is to see him in modern clothes like this, instead of those red robes I was so used to, and I want to laugh.

I don't laugh though. Trying to not allow myself to be_ too_ happy we're secluded like this takes too much effort to even _think_ of having fun.

"Do you realize how difficult it was for me to act like I didn't care when Kouga approached you earlier?!" He suddenly snarls, and I jump and am filled with surprise.

"Oooh! You're right! I almost forgot I ran into him here…" I start to wonder how he got sent beyond the well also, along with all the rest of us – it hardly connected. "Haha! Sorry, sorry!"

"Especially with you wearing what you are now! And all the other guys staring at you," He huffs while pulling away from me, arms crossed, blushing angrily.

As always, I can't help but be flattered of how jealous he gets over me.

"Should I have not dressed this cute, then?" I tease, acting like I don't get it.

"Th-that's not what I'm saying," He growls, hovering over me. "Just…if you're gonna…"

He puts his hand over mine and my heart palpitations start all over again. There was no way he was still buzzed at this point, and I knew it wasn't about me just resembling Kikyou anymore. This is all me. All him.

"…Then I want it to be for me and me alone."

I gasp a little at how endearingly selfish that is of him to say; although a little controlling, I get what he means – he means well – and his reddened face looks like he wants to kiss me again, and I'd let him, but then – then the door gets knocked open—

Surprise, surprise, it's Miroku with a girl, they're making out so hard the closed door literally gets shoved open by their bodies slamming against it and my jaw hits the floor when I realize that it's _Sango _who has his tongue down her throat!

"Eeeeeekk!" I scream, covering my face.

"Huh? What the hell!?" Inuyasha. Looks. _Sooo._ _Pissed._

They break apart and look equally shocked and horrified as us. "Kagome? And…Inuyasha…?!"

"Kagome, you told me you guys weren't an item!" Sango exclaims, still somehow sounding really chill like she always does in spite of the shock. Like…like deep down she _knew anyway!_

"What a surprising development," Miroku states officially, making a thinking face with his thumb under his chin. I wonder if he's being sarcastic. No, wait, I _know _he is.

"I-I can explain," I laugh nervously, holding my hands up in surrender. Inuyasha is growling next to me and somehow it just makes everything funnier. He was probably thinking _way_ less innocent things than _me! _I shouldn't be laughing.

"Kagome got her memory back, like you two _clearly_ already have," Inuyasha continues for me, throwing his back down onto the bed with a sigh, like he's given up completely.

"Ohh?" Miroku practically jumps for joy. "Congratulations!"

"I'm so glad!" Sango cries out. "Miroku, you threw a party at the perfect time!"

He picks her up bridal-style and carries her off suddenly, making sure to wink at us before slamming the door shut. Oh God…how embarrassing.

After some silence, I glance down at Inuyasha, who's covering his face with his hands completely. With his arms positioned like that, his shirt has ridden up, exposing a slice of his toned belly, and my face gets hot, so I look away. Not like I hadn't seen him shirtless or anything before, but, but.

There is a heaviness in the air that won't disappear. That kiss feels like it contributes, and I'm almost mad at him for doing it. But…I have to be grateful too…him doing that made me remember everything again, after all.

"Kagome."

I glance at him, and he is peering at me through the space between his fingers covering his eyes. I know it's hard to look at me after what just happened. I truly get it. But he surprises me by taking his hand off his face anyway and stretching his arm out to the side fully.

Ah, I understand. I stretch out beside him and he uses that arm to bring me in closely, tightly. I listen to his heart thumping through his ribcage and I grin to myself. He'd accuse me of all sorts of things while feeling just the same.

And we hold each other and don't say another word, the holding being more than enough. The music downstairs echoes through the floor, and we're at peace.

* * *

I'm not sure how much time passes, all I recall is closing my eyes and drifting off in the comfort of lying beside Inuyasha's warm figure – when I open them again, I'm in my own bed at home. I stare at my familiar ceiling in the dark for a while, feeling so overflowingly full of joy and light, I'd spill it everywhere if I even moved at all.

Did he take me home when I'd fallen asleep? I turn my head to the side, glancing at my alarm clock. Ah…it was really late…past 2 in the morning…how long had I been sleeping anyway?

I then gasp as I notice him sitting at the end of my bed on the floor, looking up over his shoulder at me. I sit upward slowly, covering my mouth with my hands. I realize I still have my dress on, and I snatch the blankets over my legs hurriedly just in case.

"Oh, you're up."

"Why'd you stay?" I whisper. I want him to come closer, but I'm also really nervous, and I can't say why.

He's quiet for a bit, looking away furtively.

"I guess I'm just used to watching over you while sleeping," He says under his breath. "Like…not in a creepy way. Like when we were over on the other side. It's almost a habit."

"Ah. But you know I'm safe here," I laugh softly.

"Well, with that damn Kouga at the party, I wanted to be extra sure," He growls, turning over to kneel at the end of the mattress and pout at me. His features are sort of difficult to make out in the dark, but I know him well enough to picture the exact face he's making. I wonder if he can see me smiling.

He stands up and my heart jumps into my throat. Is he going to get on the bed with me? No, he walks towards the window and opens it, propping his foot on the ledge before looking at me once more.

"I'm gonna be back tomorrow, Kagome, so be ready," He tells me gruffly, and then jumps out. I get up to close it behind him, touching my fingertips to my lips for missing a goodnight kiss. I look for his figure disappearing into the night, but he's already gone so quickly. I shut the window and sigh, crawling back into my bed, and passing out almost immediately.

* * *

In the morning, I am almost apprehensive to go downstairs and see if my Mama wants to know why I was out so late. She wouldn't be mad, but…ah! How unlike me to be so irresponsible!

When I go down the stairs, it's obviously past breakfast, but food I'm assuming is for me is laying on the table anyway. I'm starving by now and I demolish it, and when I'm washing the dishes she comes into the kitchen as though she's been looking for me.

"Ah! Kagome, did you have fun last night?"

"Yeah, mama…I did, and I got lots of compliments on that dress, too!"

"I'm glad to hear that!" She grins, and goes off happily to do whatever she has planned for the day. I'm a bit surprised, but I sigh in relief anyway. I go back upstairs and get dressed, remembering Inuyasha's words from last night, and I can't get myself to stop blushing from everything, let alone how he'd been in my room so late. I figure I'll dress casually and forgo one of my usual skirts, seeing as we had to find Shippou…and who knows where that little kid could be.

"Souta! Jii-chan! I'm heading out," I make sure I yell before leaving the house. It's around two in the afternoon…was he here by now?

I suddenly wonder, where is he even staying, anyway?! It seems like Sango and Miroku have had places to stay in since being sent over here…I imagine him just sleeping in the _goshinboku _every night and I shudder. No…he wouldn't go that far…_would he?_

I start to walk out towards the middle of my yard and he jumps out of the tree so predictably. At least he's wearing different clothes and I'm somewhat more so assured he at least has a closet somewhere…and wasn't sleeping in my backyard. He's wearing his hat like he always does to school. Ah, good, that was a relief too. Didn't need anyone thinking I was walking around with a weird cosplayer dude.

"Inuyasha, did you return the _shikon no tama _back to Kikyou?" I ask him as he comes up to me.

"Not yet," He replies. "I'll have to sooner than later, though…I guess."

"Probably," I murmur, not liking the thought of him going to meet her – but what could I do? It had to be done.

We head out down the long steps. "Where's the first place Shippou would be?"

"I wish I knew," I sigh, looking up at the sky as though it'll answer us. He's a child…so naturally wouldn't he be drawn to where other children are? I feel horror at the thought of someone taking him into their house…but then I almost secretly doubt a family would take in a child with ears and feet like him…poor Shippou.

_He must have been so lonely_. "Let's try a playground or something, there's one not too far from here," I tell Inuyasha, and he nods and we rush over to the closest one.

It turns out, he's not there. We spend all day running around town trying to desperately find him, even calling out his name repeatedly (which we get odd looks for), and before long the sun is setting and I'm famished and burned out from getting my hopes up and not coming across him still.

"He has to be somewhere, considering the rest of us are all in the same town," I pant, resting my hands on tops of my knees at a park quite far from where we'd started.

"I'm gonna punch him sooo hard when I find him for putting us through this!" Inuyasha declares furiously. "SHIPPOOU! YOU BETTER COME OUT RIGHT NOW!"

"Inuyasha!" I try to scold him but he's not listening. "He's just a kid! Come on!"

Then, almost as if screaming to the heavens does the trick, the bushes rustle and Shippou literally comes out like he's been summoned. I gasp at seeing him in cute little clothes like normal kids wear nowadays, and he cries my name out and runs into my arms as soon as he sees me.

"Kagomeee! I was hiding all day knowing Inuyasha would be angry with me, but I couldn't keep at it anymore!" He buries his face into my shoulder as I lift him up, and I pet his head and make sure I give Inuyasha a glare.

"You heard that!"

"Hmph! Well it worked, so who cares?!"

"…_OSUWARI!"_

The whole world seems to go quiet and Inuyasha covers himself with his arms, flinching in terror, but then to all our shock, he doesn't get slammed face-down into the ground…oh no, where were the _juzu _beads I could subdue him with?!

He stares at me in horror for a few seconds, and then rushes over to get all up in my face. "HAH! Looks like you can't 'sit' me anymore!"

"Oohh, I'll get you back for that, rest assured," I sneer, petting Shippou and looking away to try and hide my embarrassment. Shippou tries to help recover my lost dignity by jumping onto Inuyasha and pulling at his face, like with his tiny weight he could bring him down, but now they're grappling and I know it'll never end.

"Inuyasha, you can keep Shippou with you where you're staying, right?" I ask, as nicely as possible.

They stop fighting momentarily to look at me with surprise.

"Whaaat? I refuse!" Inuyasha snarls.

"Kagome, I'll die if you try to leave me with him!" Shippou cries out.

"You two are gonna have to figure it out, because I can't bring you home with me," I tell them, feeling a little sorry for the fox kid. I walk up to them to pat his head one more time. "Do your best, okay? And I'm here if you need _anything!_"

He makes a sad face but nods, and Inuyasha is already looking like he wants to start mischief. I look at my watch and feel my soul crumble at how late it's gotten. "I need to head home, like right now, so I'll be leaving you two here, ok?"

"Hmph!" Inuyasha throws Shippou across his shoulder like he's a dishrag and they're already arguing again as they walk off in the opposite direction I'm going. I sigh and hope they'll be okay.

But…this meant Inuyasha _was _staying somewhere! As I head home, I excitedly think and hope about him having me over sometime. But ah, if he and I…were going to be…an _item, _like Sango had called it, I wondered how that'd go over with my friends at school…and how would I even make it through the rest of the semester without totally flunking if I was going to date a delinquent like _him!_

Thinking about how I'll deal with everything is a little tiring – but I can't hide how happy I am, anymore, grinning like a fool on the bus the entire ride home.


	9. Chapter 9

When school comes around again, my life gets thrust into a hectic tornado in a way I never thought possible. Yuka, Ayumi, and Eri are all demanding to know who this new guy I'm supposedly seeing is – Sango practically kidnaps me during lunch break every day to take me to the rooftop with her so we can exchange gossip – Inuyasha has started skipping classes now – and on top of it all, every piece of information I'm actually _attempting_ to retain is just bursting out of my ears!

I can hardly manage. I space out all day in each class and get made fun of by my teachers and classmates. I wish more than anything I could be back with them in the world beyond the well, 500 years ago when stupid things like homework and tests didn't exist.

No wonder Inuyasha plays hooky all the time…when I see him, I don't bring it up, until one day he intercepts me at the main entrance of the school and tries to persuade me to leave with him.

Of course, I know you're thinking, _duuuhhh, Kagome, your crush is trying to get you alone with him - you'd be an idiot for not going along with it!_

I at least _try _to play the fool. He won't have any of it.

"You're too studious," He says this like it's an insult, and I feel this weird angered amusement overtake me.

"Unlike _you,_ I wanna _pass_ my classes! Now you have an idea of how hard it was for me going back and forth between the well!" It's almost like I could cry at the thought that he still. Just. Doesn't. Get it!

"Come onn," He groans. "Live a little."

"…Where do you even _go _when you're skipping anyway?"

"How about you find out?"

He's smirking now and I sigh. I knew from the moment he asked me I'd give in, and there I was, hiding behind his back as he lead me out one of the side doors of the building so we'd be less likely to get caught. Naturally, being half-freaking-demon, he runs so quickly I doubt it'd be an issue anyway.

"Say, Inuyasha," I start to ask him as he does his usual thing – running around with me on his back. "Have you come across any signs of Naraku or anything…?"

"Unfortunately not," He growls over his shoulder to me. "And Kikyou won't talk about it either."

"Now that you mention it…I don't see her around anymore," I ponder out loud, and he doesn't reply and I know it's better to just drop the subject – it didn't leave either of us happy.

He takes me past the woods behind the school and then I have an idea. "Hey, how about you show me the place you're staying at!"

"Huh? Of all the places we could go you wanna go there?!" _He sounds so judgmental!_ "No food or causing trouble or anything fun?! Tch! Well, I guess I have ramen at my place…"

Ramen, huh? Guess he's enjoying living the bachelor's life, I think to myself while rolling my eyes. At least he could get as much of it here as he wanted and not wait on me to always be bringing it back to the feudal era. I imagine him having a pantry full of squares of ramen and cup noodles and nothing else substantial, and I want to laugh.

He changes courses seemingly, and then heads over to a part of town that's actually not too far from where I happen to live, either. I wonder how, along with Naraku's curse, everyone was so normalized to modern life…when we get to the apartment complex, he takes out his keys from his pockets and opens the door and I'm just amazed, somehow still expecting him to be unfamiliar to anything that came into the world after the sixteenth century.

In a way…I kind of like him, all modernized, like this.

"Kagome-chan!" Shippou comes running up to me and jumps into my arms, and I hug him excitedly and can't believe I almost forgot he was still staying here!

Then…oh God. I see who's sitting stretched out on an armchair with a thick novel and I choke back a cry of surprise. Guess who? It rhymes, actually – Sesshoumaru.

He looks over the book at me with great disinterest. "Oh, it's you," He mutters drily, then flips the page to keep reading, giving a slight sigh of boredom and tilting his head to rest on his hand.

"Don't talk to Kagome," Inuyasha snaps at him, and his older brother just smirks. Oh? Not _don't talk to Kagome 'like that'? _Just don't talk to me at all? I mask the giggle that wants to come out.

"H-h-how…how did Sesshoumaru get sent here too?!" I finally gasp. "And why is he living with you! That seems so wrong!"

"It _is _wrong," Sesshoumaru answers before Inuyasha can speak – the younger one is fuming. "But do not have concern over my living situation. I am removing myself from this hell-hole as soon as possible."

"Then…where's Rin-chan?" I ask, hoping the answer is a good one.

He just looks at me and doesn't respond…as mysterious as ever. I wonder where his little demon vassal Jaken was too, but I'm not as worried for him as I am the human girl.

Anyways – I follow Inuyasha into the kitchen, still gawking at Sesshoumaru appearing to be so peaceful and not actually trying to kill his little brother as soon as he walked into the room. I can't imagine how hilarious it is with the two of them sharing quarters like this – or, rather, how terrifying, probably.

"Do you want anything?" Inuyasha asks me gruffly.

"I'm good," I tell him, and he just walks off into another room and I follow him a little shyly. We go into his bedroom. He doesn't close the door. I'm a bit surprised Shippou doesn't follow us.

Hmm…interesting – he has a twin sized bed against the wall, with a small and old TV in front of it – with a gaming system attached, the same kind my little brother Souta has. The rest of the room is pretty empty. There's some random magazines strewn about on the floor and nothing really on the walls except for a calendar that has puppies as its monthly theme…oh my God, how much cuter could you get?!

"How adorable!" I say, flipping through the pages.

"It was the only one I could find," He defends himself and throws his hat off – his ears go backward. I laugh but then stand there a little awkwardly as he sits down onto his mattress facing me. He's blushing just slightly, but definitely not as badly as I am.

"Uh…I have _Tekken_, or Street Fighter if you want to play a game or whatever."

"Oh! S-sure," I say, and he leans down to the turn the TV on and pull up two controllers. I'd played _Tekken _a few times with Souta. I don't spend a lot of time trying to get good at video games, though – Inuyasha seems like the type who would be skilled at it – and of course he only has fighting games…_of course…_

I sit down next to him and he gives me one of the remotes. The game screen loads up and we start to play. Several miserable rounds of me failing awfully go by and Inuyasha keeps laughing hysterically.

"Ughhh! This is so frustrating!" I moan out halfway through the next one.

Inuyasha pauses the game to glare at me, but move closer. "Here, look, you're just spamming the buttons. You have to do combos and stuff to be good." He takes my hands in his and moves my fingers for me to show me which ones to press. "That's just for a few of the simpler ones – the more complex ones take a bit more time – do you get it now?"

He's talking me through it and hasn't taken his hands off mine. I can't nod right away, I'm too busy trying to catch my breath while staring at his hands – ah, they're so big, like twice the size of mine – he seems to realize what he's been doing and his face turns bright pink, and he pulls away and unpauses the game. "R-right! You try it now."

"Okay. Ohhh! Look! My character is beating up yours!" I shout at him, trying to force away some of that nervousness by getting excited about the game again.

"Keh! You wish," He yells back – I feel my body fill up with determination and I _have _to beat him at least _once! _I try mashing a few extra random buttons while using the ones he had showed me, and to our utter shock the game blares out, "**_K.O.!_**_"_

Inuyasha drops his controller. "What…? You…you _beat_ _me?_"

"I did it!" I cry out cheerfully. "See, see?! I might be pretty good at this!"

He frowns and tries to reach for my controller. "Hmph! I'll put in another game then!"

"_Inuyasha!_ Don't be such a sore loser!" I scold him, but he keeps reaching for my remote anyway – I hold it out in the air as far as my arm can reach and he lunges forward for it, predictably shoving me down onto the mattress roughly.

I cry out a little as his weight comes down onto mine – it's not like he body slams me, but he was really stupidly intent on getting his way and _apparently_ using force against such a small girl like me was necessary – the moment he grabs the controller out of my grip he seems to realize yet again what he was doing, like with the hands earlier, but now, way more extreme.

I lay there on my back with my arms out above me, looking into his face with my heart racing so hard I'm sure his downstairs neighbors can hear it thudding through the mattress's frame down into the floor. His eyes implore mine, with his arms and upper body stretched out above me like…like how they do in movies. He had jerked himself away when he noticed how close he was, but now it's as though…he's being drawn closer…

Ahh…do I close my eyes now? Is that how this goes? Do I shove him off of me and scream bloody murder? Do I cry like a baby? How do _normal_ high school girls handle something like this?! He was being so selfish about the dumb game, does he even deserve this? Deep down I know I can't resist him. I think of that night he took me home and all my desires override my temptation to withhold myself from him instead.

He reaches up above me and takes his pillow – wait, what? He throws it at his door so hard it gets shut even from this distance – ah, I get it now. Privacy, duh. I'm glad he didn't get up to go do it. And then he comes down to greet my mouth with his.

His lips seem urgent at first – the kiss a bit messy, like that time at Miroku's party last weekend…yet different, too. He's not grabbing my face but his hands are holding my own down on the bed, the controller has since fallen onto his floor. I try to kiss back; it's kind of hard when you don't have a lot of skill, but it's not like Inuyasha was super experienced with girls, either, as far as I knew. He breathes very softly through his nose and it tickles my cheeks. His lips part open my lips, and slowly I feel his tongue reach for mine, and now my face feels too hot to concentrate. It's weird and wonderful and feels amazing.

Our bumbling attempts fill me with excitement but also make me want to completely vanish into thin air out of embarrassment for not having a single idea of what to do. I could open up every book on geometry, chemistry, English, whatever, and memorize the contents – but there were no textbooks on properly making out.

Our tongues sort of feel like they dance across one another and it sends shivers down my spine – I had never known I could crave the taste of the inside of someone's mouth so badly, and it's like he's reading my mind as he lowers himself onto his elbows to come closer and brings the rest of his body across mine. Somehow, even if he's heavy...it feels nice to have him on all sides like this, surrounding me.

He's since let go of his hold on my hands, and I bring them up onto his shoulders, trembling. He breaks the kiss and looks at me with an expression I've never seen before.

"Kagome…"

I wonder how my face looks to him, right now. I just know I'm out of breath from holding it for so long. I exhale through my open mouth and he's still gazing at me adoringly. I always knew he was a softie deep down, somewhere,_ sometimes_ at least – but this kind of gentleness was brand new. Yet I could tell from his touch, he had a propensity to be rough as well, and knowing his ferocious nature makes anxiety flood my body at the thought of what he'd be like doing _other _things—

I can't bring myself to say his name back. I'm too excited and scared - I part open my lips to say it, but it doesn't come out. When I blink he starts to kiss me again, more intensely now, his hands coming onto my shoulders and along my sides. I'm wondering how many times this exact scenario has run through his head before happening now...but could I admit how many times it'd run through my own? Thinking of his hands touching me like this and kissing me like his life depended on it...oh, what wouldn't I have given, 500 years ago.

Gaahhh! And then suddenly, while his hands are making their way all over and about me, I remember all those times he'd seen me naked on accident! Oh God, what a horrible time to recall that! I could never take baths on the other side of the well without being worried as hell over him seeing me, but it was often too late for that; it'd happened more times than I'd like to count. I wonder if he's thinking about that now while kissing me?!

_Wah! Probably!_

One of his hands has moved to holding the back of my head, and the other is traveling down my waist to the side of my hip now, his fingertips pressing hard through my clothes. His fingers are playing with the waistband of my skirt, his touch feeling like sparks on my skin underneath. Our long hair is in each other's faces and I feel like a hot mess. I need to get over myself! How long had I lusted for this to happen, just for me to be a coward in the end?! I challenge myself to be braver like I ought to, like I _want _to, and wrap my arms around his shoulders and neck – I feel him sigh into my mouth and then his free hand is on my left breast now while he's pressing himself onto me entirely. He gropes it softly, firmly, and I involuntarily let out a sound I wish hadn't escaped, and he moans kind of quietly in return. It feels awesome, with him doing this and our chests pressed so tightly together I can feel our hearts beating like crazy through our shirts-

Ah – I feel like, I feel – like this is better than anything I could do with myself in my alone time - his hips are doing something otherworldly on mine and even though he's making an obvious effort to hold himself back, I now feel how hard he is through his jeans and I gasp at the sudden and unfamiliar scary sensation and push him off of me, and away.

He flinches and makes a surprised sound. "Wh-what?! Why!"

"You're!" I can't bring myself to say anything about it and I'm blushing so hard my face literally hurts, and my lips are burning from the prolonged kissing. I'm upset I can't help how my voice sounds - it's coming out all breathy and in moans since he'd put my head into such a daze. "Inuyasha…you're…"

I think he gets it – he covers his flushed face with his hands and groans out in frustration, pushing away from me so he flops down onto the bed beside me.

"I can't help my body doing that," He mutters in an annoyed way, his arms sort of muffling his voice. "If I do this sort of thing with you…it's unpreventable."

"…I'm sorry," I eek out, too embarrassed to handle it. My lips still feel like they're on fire. He turns his head to the side to keep looking at me – and still, I wonder what he sees? He sighs forlornly, and reaches his hand to touch my face and I put my own hand on top of his. He doesn't try to kiss or touch me otherwise, and we lay there for a while, clearly unable to speak.

Then, he gets up with another sigh, more exasperated this time, stretching slightly. "…I'll take you home."

Oh? Home? Not back to school?

I still lay there on the bed, looking up at him, selfishly wanting him to keep trying with me even though I'd pushed him away. Blushing more than ever, I force myself up too, remembering the light that shot through me where his hands had touched…and how lovely it was. I want that again. I want more. But I can't ask.

We start to walk out of his room. "You're not mad, are you?"

He looks at me with an obviously disappointed expression. "What? No."

_…__You are SO totally mad!_

I don't push it though. I follow him out and Shippou comes running over again. "Kagome! Are you leaving already?"

"Yea, sorry, Shippou!" I ruffle the thick red hair on his head. "I already was bad and missed class, but you'll see me again soon," I grin.

Oh no. What if he doesn't invite me over ever again because I didn't let him keep fooling around with me?! Inuyasha leads me out of the apartment and I avoid eye contact with Sesshoumaru, too humiliated to even think about glancing into another pair of eyes the same color as just moments ago…

Inuyasha doesn't talk at all while he takes me through a shortcut through the woods, back in the direction of my place, carrying me on his back. Yet again, or really, as always, I'm aware of the grip he has on my bare thighs while carrying me like this and I feel now a bit of that pain it probably caused him to endure such a thing.

The final tree we land in is one I recognize as the _goshinboku. _He leaps down and I hop off his back, letting out a sigh, and he's already turning away to walk off, before I get mad with his attitude and grab onto the back of his shirt before he can totally leave.

"Come on, talk!" I demand.

He whirls around and pouts at me for a moment before looking so increasingly mad he slaps his hands onto his eyes. "_Grraaaghhh!_ Kagome, you're killing me!"

I'm taken aback by how much more furious he is than I am, and I blink in silenced surprise. "I…I just didn't know what to do with myself! I was scared," I frown. "B-besides, it's my first time doing anything like that with a boy! Can't you be more understanding?!"

Inuyasha just looks at me blankly for a moment, like he's not sure how to think or act anymore. "I guess I get it," He mutters, looking down at the ground, then back up at me. "Just so you know…I'd be only beginning at it, too," He sends me off with this, his face red – from embarrassment? Or anger? Who even knew anymore? And he jumps up into the tree and disappears.

I let out a long and heavy sigh. _He'd only be beginning at it too, huh? Is it that hard to say "first time" in such a way?_

I guess so, for someone as proud as him. I head back into my house and lie to my mama and jii-chan about feeling sick. I flop down onto my bed, running my hands over my body where his own had been, and I'm miserable at the fact my own touch isn't enough.

So I make a promise to myself. _I'll get him back! I'll show him for sure next time._

Show him _what_, exactly…? How far could I even take it past that? Even _I_ don't really know – but was excited to see!


	10. Chapter 10

_(hey guys! sorry i haven't updated in a bit - life got rather hectic! anyways, just as an fyi, i've never truly written, like, *legit* lemon before this, so here's your warning for mature content for this chapter - along with the fact this maaay not be the best. haha. i really, -really- tried though and i hope it's still good and sexy and all that fun stuff, while still being true to realistic things that actual real young couples do, since that's what i was going for with the high-school theme and all. anyways, don't mind my blabbing! if it *is* okay, there's more intense citrusy smut to come later as i get back into the plot, so do not worry ;) thanks for sticking with me xx)_

* * *

The next day, Inuyasha surprisingly shows up to class – I was almost entirely used to the fact he rarely came anymore, and stopped feeling worry over his poor attendance ruining his grades a while ago. He sits behind me and my body alights on fire while everyone else also pours into the room. Sango and I had been chatting; pausing when the _hanyou _sits down, then looking at each other.

I know I'm blushing something awful. Sango gets it, of course she would, being so mature like that. She gives me an understanding smile, despite her apparent curiosity over what she didn't know had occurred, and I can hardly grin back, with Inuyasha's presence behind me feeling so foreboding…

When Miroku comes in, he rushes to sit by Sango and they're already talking. I turn around in my seat to face Inuyasha, since they're now distracted.

He's spaced out, so I wave my hand in his face. He very lightly pushes it away when he snaps out of it, but still holds onto my fingers before softly letting go…who knew it was possible for my cheeks to get any redder?

"Hi," I say, a little too bluntly. As confident as I am, it's hard to pretend what happened yesterday wasn't a big deal.

"Yo," He says in a low manner. Today…he looks extra attractive to me. Even with his strong brows kind of furrowed, his features hardened as they typically are, the fact I knew now how gentle his face became when he'd been alone with me just made me feel like we were surrounded by falling flower petals.

I'm so…enamored!

_Ahhh! What is this, a shoujo manga?! Apparently…!_

His face is only slightly pink. He's good at keeping a pretty straight face, unlike me. I remember his hands all over me as I'm looking at him and I glance around the room, weirdly expecting other classmates to read my mind and suddenly gasp in shock with knowing what we'd done. But they all ignore us entirely. I turn back to him, remembering the promise I made to myself yesterday to be brave, and I slap my hand down onto his desk – he jumps slightly.

"Walk me home after our last class today," I command him, and he looks super freaked out.

Then, his startled expression fades into a slyer one. "Oh? What a change from yesterday," He remarks, crossing his arms and getting more comfortable in his seat, that smirk on his face almost making me mad again.

I blush again, and then summon more confidence from before. "You don't know just what I'm capable of," I huff at him. "Yesterday I was unprepared. Not anymore!"

Deep down…I'm still _sooo _nervous to be beginning such a thing in my life! But who cares! I swore I'd be a strong woman about this, like I always am in every other situation! No more child's play! If I could shoot arrows at terrifying demons in the feudal era, obviously I could handle doing stuff with this simple _boy!_

I can tell he's trying to keep as cool as possible, but the excitement is obvious. "Heh! Well this makes things more interesting."

"Kagome, it sounds like you're challenging him to a fight, or like…a duel, or something," Sango observes, hiding a chuckle, and her voice brings me back to the reality outside my conversation with Inuyasha. I laugh nervously and shake my hands at her.

"Haha, what? Nooo! Does it really?"

"Yeah, a '_fight',_" Miroku winks at him and he just growls under his breath…the three of us giggle softly.

"I'll fight your ass any day, if that's what you want!" Inuyasha is totally misunderstanding and Miroku just laughs some more.

"No no, I'm good, thanks, you can just carry on with your _'fight' _with Kagome-chan later…I think that'll be enough for you," He put 'fight' in air quotes and now is laughing really hard. Sango is blushing somewhat too while laughing with him and I just feel like I'm dying. Inuyasha bristles visibly and decides to not keep arguing, shockingly, going _keh! _and turning away.

"Let me know if you end up winning your 'fight' with Inuyasha, Kagome-chan," Sango grins, and before I can retort or defend myself against their onslaught of teasing, the teacher walks in, and silences us all as class starts.

* * *

At the end of the day, as I'm rearranging the last few things I'll need to take home from my locker, someone taps on my shoulder – I expect it to be Inuyasha, or Sango or someone, but…ah…

It's Kouga!

"Yo, Kagome," He grins. "I knew I'd find you here!"

I just gasp. "K-Kouga? I…I saw you at the party, b-but, you go here too?!"

"Sometimes," He shrugs. "It can be fun, but, school? Nah, not my kinda thing. As for you? Yeah, totally my kind of thing, still!"

I sigh in defeat. Even in this modern day world, he just wouldn't give up, huh? Even me getting my memory back wouldn't stop him.

"How about I take you out this weekend," He proclaims, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You, me, a nice dinner, no mutt-face to interrupt. How 'bout it?"

"Or _not," _A rough voice snarls, and suddenly Inuyasha intercepts our conversation, slapping Kouga's hand off of me. I exhale a huge sigh of relief, not having been forced to continue it any longer than necessary. How odd, that I'd almost missed the two of them fighting over me.

But I knew that wouldn't last.

"Oh, whatever," Kouga's face turns dark as he backs off. "I'll get rid of you eventually, but until then, make sure you take care of my girl," He laughs while dashing off, disappearing into a huge crowd of students that just so happens to pass in that moment.

Inuyasha starts to go after him, but then apparently figures it's not worth it. He turns around to look down at me. "I can't believe that bastard dared to touch you!" He mutters, sounding really scary.

"I'm ok though," I insist. "Like…at least he didn't pick me up and run away with me like he did on the other side of the well, haha, right? Ha, ha…!"

He just rolls his eyes, not satisfied obviously, and then takes my wrist and pulls me away. I kick my locker door shut, hardly being given any time to finish up what I needed to do as Inuyasha practically drags me away from it.

But he lets go of my wrist pretty quickly as I follow after him. We walk in silence for a while, flooding out with everyone else leaving for the day, an awkward quietness stifling the air between us.

"Y-you…don't have to force yourself, you know," He tells me then, after we're pretty much walking by ourselves through the city, on the way to my house.

"Force myself?" I look up at him and wonder if he truly believes I am?

But…ahh! That meant admitting to myself _and _him that it _was _something I wanted to do! Besides, who said we _had _to go all the way…? Hmph! I just didn't want to chicken out again while merely kissing him, that's all! Although I'm covering my face with my hands, really, I wish I could be slapping myself instead.

I'm too curious about what it would've been like to continue, anyway. Wasn't that a normal thing to do with a boyfriend, after all…? It almost feels like I'm viewing it all with rose-colored glasses. But after yesterday…getting a taste of it had me in such a state of longing like this, I couldn't help it. He had never touched me on the other side of the well. It's like…once you start, you can't stop.

"I'm not forcing myself, Inuyasha," I say softly, after pausing a while. My train of thought shifts to all those times he'd acted like he totally wasn't interested in me, especially when we first met – he had acted disgusted by my femininity. Clearly that wasn't the case anymore, but it was sort of funny to remember it. And maybe call him out on it later!

"It's ok for me…to want to be closer to you…right?" I almost mean this in a teasing way, but I mean it more so for real, too, the slight tremble in my voice betraying me.

He looks startled at these words. "Wh-what?! The hell!? O-of course," He's looking away so bashfully now, unable to make eye contact with me anymore, and I just giggle.

* * *

When we get to my place, heading up the enormously long flight of stairs, I stop in my tracks to tell Inuyasha, "Come in through my window like you always used to! And _qui-et-ly…_"

I don't want to get interrogated upon walking through my door with him so casually. I don't think my family even knew yet about the whole thing where I'd forgotten my memories...I just know they never brought up the well and the world beyond after _whatever_ had happened, and neither had I.

He looks at me with confusion momentarily before apparently getting it. He goes off in the other direction, grinning, while I rush up the stairs, my heart pounding uncontrollably hard at the thought of what was to come.

Jii-chan and Souta want to chat when I enter the house, but I lie about having a huge project to finish, and run upstairs to excitedly open my bedroom window and let Inuyasha in. He climbs in gracefully, glancing around at his now-familiar-again surroundings as I close the window behind him, then he surprises me by snatching me into his arms.

He presses his face into the space between my neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply. I slowly bring my arms up around his back, shivering at the feeling of his breath going down the back of my shirt. He hugs me so tightly, it's almost difficult to breathe.

"It feels like I wanted to be alone with you for so long…" He murmurs into my ear, "…that now I don't even know what to do with myself."

I open my mouth to reply, but a smile takes over my mouth and steals my words. Then, he shocks me by pushing me away slightly – his hands still on my shoulders – but his face is really upset.

I start to ask him what's wrong when he growls, "…that fucking wolf's smell is on your shirt, Kagome…"

Ah…even from just barely touching my sleeve? I frown and wonder how I'm supposed to undo that…I mean, it wasn't my fault he had such a good sense of smell…how exasperating…then, I have an idea, that plays into my plans _perfectly._

I take Inuyasha's hands off of me softly, and he gives me a confused expression that fades into one of amazement as I lift my shirt off, and toss it to the floor. I stand in front of him, and cover my arms with my hands at the sudden sensation of being cold. "…Happy now?"

He says nothing, just stares with his mouth agape; then he pulls my body closer to him. I shiver as he wraps his arms up along my waist, my ribs, across my shoulders, tightening his grip on me even more than before, exacerbating the goose bumps I already have. Through my chest, I feel his heart thudding through his own, and I smile even more.

He removes himself from me briefly to take his own shirt off, and it crumples on the carpet beside mine. He lifts me up and carries me over to my small twin-sized bed, laying me down, pulling himself across me and kissing me with the intensity of having needed to for a whole twenty-four hours.

I kiss back, somehow feeling it's a little more natural than before. I let my hands wander and play with his hair, and then stroke his ears. They're so velvety, it's hard not want to touch them all the time. His bare chest presses against mine; through my bra I feel his pecs, his strong chest muscles slightly rippling with every action. He sighs into my mouth a little, and I try very hard to not smile too much while we're busy kissing, because it makes our teeth bump together.

Our tongues go at it while he explores new territory – drawing his hands down my thighs, then slowly from the knee he presses on upward. I wonder just how much he knows about a girl's body anyway. Did he and Miroku share perverted conversations I wasn't aware of? Ugh, how funny…and _awful_…would that be?

He grasps my legs hard, letting his fingertips wander at the sides of my hips under my skirt, teasing at the waistband of my lacey underwear. He brings his hands up to caress my breasts, pushing them together and squeezing my yet-untouched nipples hard through the thin fabric of my bra. I gasp out a little, not sure if it really hurts or feels good…kind of both? All I know is that my face feels incredibly hot, and if I'm even turned on, it's hiding underneath all of my nervousness.

"How do I take this stupid thing off?" He mutters, lifting it up at the little pink ribbon bow in the front. I wince as it snaps against my skin.

"Oh? You and Miroku never compared tips on taking off a girl's bra before?" I tease him. I'm…I'm not sure if I want to take it off yet, anyway.

"Well…we've talked about _some _stuff, but not _that,_" He tries to defend himself, blushing, still gently pulling at the sides and the straps of it, looking like he was growing increasingly irritated. I guess I didn't have to worry about him doing anything like this with Kikyou at all, clearly he was completely _clueless!_

He seems to get too annoyed with the technicalities, and instead wrestles with my skirt, pulling it off hard down past my knees, and throwing it aside. I inhale sharply as the rest of my body grows cold – he's gazing down at my nearly-naked figure, like the sight distracts him to where he forgets to continue touching me.

I love how…with his figure leaning up above me like this, and how intense the look in his amber eyes is, I still feel…so wanted, so safe.

I'm looking up at him, wondering what sort of stuff is going through his head right now. I'm hoping…I look as beautiful as his staring at me is making me feel-

But at least I'm wearing cute lacey undies that match, if I have to give myself any credit. I'm blushing so hard my face feels like it's going to explode as his eyes travel down the length of me, his hands slowly reaching out to caress my side, fingers coming back up to cross over the fabric of my panties. I gasp a little even though he hasn't touched the most sensitive spot and he raises his eyebrows with slight surprise.

I think he might be overwhelmed? Honestly – all those times he had probably wanted to touch me and held himself back have conditioned him to freeze up, I think – I want to tell him it's alright…I lightly put my hands on his forearms. _Please don't stop._

"…Inuyasha..."

It's like I can't say anything else. Silly me, trying to figure out what's going on in his head, when I can't even sort out what's happening in my own.

I think that's enough of a green light, though. He brings his face down to attack my neck with kisses, and I cry out a little at the intensity. Oh, God, I'd have never thought I could want my neck kissed like that. Wherever his lips press down on my throat, the most pleasurable ache courses through me. He brings the kisses down lower, his mouth sucking softly through my bra, then even lower, kissing my stomach, above my navel, and it lights me on fire. I dig my shoulders down into my mattress, feeling like I'm losing it.

He sighs, stopping above my undies, gripping the sides of my hips hard with his whole hands digging down into my skin. It's almost…it's almost like…he's _toying_ with me! I stare at him, panting for breath, hardly aware I'd been brought to this state of arousal so quickly. He's smirking a little.

_Damn, I guess he's not as clueless as I'd thought!_

He strokes his fingers across my heightened sensitivity and I clasp my hands over my mouth, suddenly remembering we aren't alone in the house. I can't be loud. I can't make any sounds at all. I watch him, watching me, the hunger building up, awaiting every reaction as he pulls his hand away – then brings it back, rubbing the tip of his thumb across my…

He's…ahh! I shut my eyes tight as he notices my body's response, and he gets it quickly, and goes right for where the pleasure is felt most. I can't believe he's doing it, so directly... I want to watch his face, and see if he's looking confused or confident – but I can't keep my eyes open, I'm too shy to acknowledge he's touching me like this, despite how it has me secretly throbbing for more. He pulls me up all of a sudden and I let out a soft sound of surprise at the joyful sensation getting interrupted.

"Take it off," He mutters, and I realize he means my bra…I want to laugh, almost, at the fact he can't do it, but I'm out of giggles by now. I reach for my back, trembling, amazed I'm feeling so happily compliant to his commands. I unhook it, and let it fall to the floor to join our growing pile of abandoned clothing. I gasp again as he lightly pushes me back down onto the bed, grappling with my undies and practically ripping them off.

My first thought is that I'm angry I'm totally naked while he still has his pants on. And then my next thought is how horrified I am for him to be seeing me totally exposed like this…but I can't keep lying to myself about how badly I'd been wanting to be laid completely bare for him. Even if he'd seen me naked before, it wasn't like this at all.

He seems to mouth a "wow" silently, and I shiver, too nervous to smile back at him as I lift my arms up above my head, like I'm trying to pose for him or something; and he leans down to softly kiss my cheek with a tenderness I never knew he could possess.

He goes back to stimulating me with one hand, and cupping one of my breasts with the other. I can't believe how his hands feel against my bare skin. I wonder if he'll actually try to make me come, but that wasn't likely with how I could barely keep my thighs apart for fear of letting him see my sex so exposed. Although I'm still being a typical scaredy-cat virgin, I want to try more too…so I reach my hands out for the tent he's pitching in his jeans and he looks surprised…why should he be? I bring my palm around it, unable to figure out much except for how uncomfortable it probably was for his junk to be all constrained like this.

"Kagome," He pants out at my touch, "..you don't have to."

Would he quit with that?! "_Osuwari,_" I say, joking. He flinches and when he remembers it doesn't work anymore he laughs really nervously and buries his face into my chest, having to support himself with his arm on the bed. We're laughing and I feel a lot better now.

I get interrupted mid-laugh by the sensation of him suddenly slipping one of his fingers inside me. He gives out a heavy sigh, watching himself insert them into me, and I hold my breath, having stopped moving my hands along the front of his pants by being distracted. It doesn't really hurt…or feel super great…until I feel him take it out, and put in another, and then wince as he's pushing in both.

Ouuuchh. _Please_ don't tell me sex is worse than this! He lifts up his chest to look at me, since he'd been kind of smothering me too. "Oh shit, Kagome, I'm sorry. Is this…ok?"

"It…kinda hurts…"

"Should I stop?"

"…No!"

He stares, eyes alight with confusion. I feel bad for messing with his head. But it shouldn't _keep _hurting…right? It's only 'cause I'm used to my own fingers…and he's a boy, obviously his were much thicker. Ahhh! He pauses, narrowing those amber eyes like he's trying to figure out if I'm lying or not, then sighs again as he slowly keeps pushing his fingers in until I feel them stop at the end. He brings them out…and in again. Gah, I hate to admit I love how he's watching my face, and I know I really need to—

"Relax," He soothes. I feel my mind fighting those words, but…at the sound of his voice saying so, my body calms anyway, and the pain decreases noticeably. He fingers me faster then, like it got easier for him, too, and then when I realize a moan is escaping my throat, I slap my hands over my mouth.

He laughs and takes my hands off my lips.

"My family is downstairs," I gasp out, as he keeps going. "You don't understand!"

"It's _fine," _He insists, sounding annoyed, pushing his fingers into me deeper, making me forget how to breathe. "It sounds so good anyway…"

"Ugh! Of course you'd want me to be loud when I _can't_ be," I hiss.

"You're damn right," He tells me back, thrusting his fingers into me as hard as he can. I feel my eyes roll into my skull, tilting my head back all the way, as the mind-blowing sensation forces me to give up the argument and any control I might have had over my body until then. Oh God, I can't believe he's talking to me like that!...but I also can't believe how much it turns me on…

I can feel how wet this has me dripping slightly down the backs of my thighs. How embarrassing…I have to stop him before I…I get too close…

I reach for his jeans again, trembling with the effort of doing anything other than getting pleasured, and unbutton them. His face gets so red. "K-Kagome…you—"

"Why else would I if I didn't want to!" I respond, and he looks taken aback, and I just laugh. He pulls his fingers out of me and kneels upward, grinning slightly, watching me struggle with his jeans a bit, pulling them down past his hips and feeling my eyes go wide as I take in the sight of his member almost bursting through his boxers.

_He's…he's huge…_I mean…even if I'd never seen one before! Still-! I'm blushing something awful and I'm freezing up. Oh my god. _I can't handle this!_

He moves away briefly to shove his jeans and shoes off, and pushes my body back down onto the mattress with much more force than before, going back to kissing me now, and I'm full of alarm as I feel his boner pressing up hard against my stomach. But…I force myself to be okay with this new feeling, and right as the making out gets hot and heavy again, an actual, legitimate terror fills me as I hear someone walking up the stairs and approaching my door.

I push Inuyasha off of me, and grab my covers that have gathered at the end of my bed – he starts cussing and complaining as I slam his face down into the mattress and cover us both up, sitting up with the comforter hiding my body all the way up to my chin, trying to act cool as my mama knocks on the door, but immediately enters without me addressing it.

_Ooohhh noo_…how bad could this get?! It was _SO_ obvious there was another person in the bed with me. Oh my God. And not only did she not know Inuyasha was back in my life, especially not like this, but she also didn't have any sort of notion of me…doing…this kind of thing…it's not like the bed was rocking audibly…_was _it?

Well, I can't say I'm just having a study date; that much is clear.

I thank my lucky stars that Inuyasha has at least shut up and isn't giving himself away, as I keep holding his head down hard. But my own guilty expression and obvious flushed face, and the poorly hidden extra body, tells it all.

She's holding a tray with tea and a plate with snacks on it. She smiles at me, not even _glancing _at the figure beside me, like she hasn't even noticed…

"I thought I heard you had a friend over or something, Kagome-chan, but it seems you're busy. I'm sorry!" She grins widely and waves at me dismissively, and closes the door. I wait for the sound of her steps to fade away completely.

I exhale, trembling. Inuyasha snatches the covers off of him the moment the door clicks shut.

"What the _fuck _was that for!"

"What, did you _want_ my mom to see us like that?!"

He glares at me, looking sooo upset…it's almost funny. But it's totally not funny, seeing how mad he is.

"That's the _second _time!" He yells, and I hush him. God, I wished the _sit _command still worked on him…I'd have to figure that out sooner than later…

"Y-you're saying that like this is my fault," I accuse him, just as upset as he is.

He groans out in frustration and moves away, flopping beside me facedown. He's totally given up. The mood has been utterly destroyed. I pull the blanket up to cover me even more, wishing I could just vanish into thin air. The embarrassment was too real to even believe, with my sweat-dampened sheets growing cold beneath us.

Then, my door gets knocked on again, and we both jump. "Kagome! Let Inuyasha know he can stay for dinner!" My mama calls happily, without coming in again. I hear her go back downstairs, and I look at Inuyasha in shock as his ears prick up and he lifts his head up to look at me.

"How did she know?!" He sputters.

"You totally were yelling just now, obviously she recognized your voice," I retort. Ohhh…were we in trouble. But I keep gazing into those honey-colored eyes as his angry expression slowly fades away, the longer he keeps looking back. "…well…won't you stay? For dinner? Haha…"

He doesn't reply for a while, but doesn't break eye contact either. When he finally does, he sighs and sits up beside me. "Sure," He mutters, his ears pinned back. He leaps over me to go collect his clothes off the floor and I try to not stare, sneaking glances at his almost-naked figure in spite of myself.

"Truuust me…I'm getting you back for this later," Inuyasha growls at me, while hastily getting dressed.

I just grin. That was fine by me.


	11. Chapter 11

Before we leave my room a bit later, I try my best to fix my tousled-up appearance – fixing my hair is nightmarish, and the red flush won't leave my cheeks or my lips. I mean…that was also a look _in_ and _of_ itself…but totally _not _appropriate for a family dinner. And neither are these hickies. I have to put cover-up on them and that takes some time, too.

"You look fine," Inuyasha mutters at me, lingering in the open doorway. What was he hurrying for? I wanted to take as _long _as possible and maybe, just _maybe_, we'd be too late for dinner to join them and I wouldn't have to endure those awkward stares!

"How are you not embarrassed?!" I cry out at him, running my brush through my long hair one last time, forcing myself to give it up. We hadn't even had sex and I still totally had sex hair. Ugh. How was his still looking completely perfect and untouched?! I'm so mad and jealous about that…

"W-who said I wasn't!" He snaps back at me, _harrumph_ing and turning away. "Tch! Maybe I shouldn't have _said_ I would, but—"

His stomach suddenly growls. How self-explanatory. He just frowns and glares at me like he's blaming _me_ for the opportune invitation to dinner, and I feel so helpless. I let out a long sigh, walking past him.

"Let's just act like nothing happened," I say quietly, feeling a little bitter we had to get caught for this to even be an issue in the first place. I look over my shoulder at him as we start to go down the stairs, and he's just watching me with so much restrained longing, so much desire to touch me again, and that same gentle expression as earlier, I can't bear it – I have to turn away...

I go to sit down at the table when Souta sees Inuyasha, and his eyes sparkle. "Inu-no-nii-chan…?! Woww, it's been _sooo_ long!"

I find it sort of odd that I lost my memory when whatever had happened on the other side of the well sent everyone into this world…but my family hadn't, clearly.

"And in normal clothes, too?" Jii-chan adds. "What happened to those robes of yours?"

"It's…a long story," Inuyasha replies unsurely, and sits down beside me. He glances at me briefly, and I blush, still a bit overwhelmed to really look back. Yeah…it really _was_ a long story…I almost feel guilty for wanting to fool around with him so much, when we really needed to be focusing on how to return back to the other world…

I have a feeling we should return to the well itself, to look for any sort of clue, especially since that day I approached it and it lit up – but I had been too scared to go near it again ever since then. Even if that was before I got my memory back, it still felt really eerie whenever I passed it.

"So like, do you live in this world now?!" Souta asks Inuyasha excitedly.

"Yeah," He replies, sort of laughing at my little brother's ecstatic attitude. "Not too far from here, actually."

He gasps in reply. "That's sooo cool! You should come over more and play games with me from now on!"

They start talking about video games all of a sudden and I roll my eyes, forgetting that was a thing he did now in this day and age…jeez, I start to think I prefer him how he was 500 years ago. Jii-chan just looks confused, and before I can say anything to either of them, Mama comes up to the table with a big, broiling hot pot – holding it up above us and setting it down onto the burner on the table with a big grin.

"I made Kagome's favorite!" She says happily, and sits down. "Let's eat!"

* * *

After dinner, Souta tries to get Inuyasha to stay for a bit longer, to play, but I make up an excuse about having school tomorrow making that a bad idea.

"Please come back soon, Inu-no-nii-chan!" Souta grins, waving to us as we walk out my front door.

The sun is just finishing setting, and there's a pretty lilac-y glow about the last of its rays disappearing beyond the trees. We're both staring at the last few seconds it's suspended in the sky, and then we look at each other as it finally leaves, on its way to greet the other side of the world, now.

"Thank god my mama didn't mention anything," I exhale, bonking my forehead on his shoulder.

"For real," He agrees, petting my hair. "Hey, how about I sneak back up into your room again and we can continue?"

I laugh while groaning, pulling away from him. He's just smirking at me, but I almost can't tell if he's joking or not. "Inuyasha, I'm too tired now," I say, stifling a well-timed yawn.

"Keh! Humans…and your lack of energy…"

Christ…was he trying to imply he could go at it all night? Probably…even just the _idea_, much less preventing the mental image from popping into my mind, exhausts me. But really, I think he was just bragging about his powers in general. How typical.

"I'll walk with you to the bottom of the stairs," I say, smiling. He smiles back and takes my fingers in his, as we walk. But when we pass the bone-eaters well, I get that same old chilled feeling I'd gotten before, even from prior to regaining my memories.

"You felt that too?" He murmurs, glancing over at it as we walk by.

"…Yeah, I always do," I sigh out. "I mean, that's how I got to the _sengoku jidai _in the first place_…_it's not too surprising I'd feel _something _from walking past it, but still, it's…unsettling."

He frowns a bit but says nothing. I can tell he's remembering that time the light shot out of it, thinking about coming back here, most likely immediately after I go back inside, to check it out…that's just how he is, I guess. Impatient as ever.

We get to the bottom of the stairs. We linger there for a few moments, and I'm hoping for a goodnight kiss, but then, suddenly, a car comes screeching up to the side of the road we're standing next to, and we cough as we get drowned in grey smoke.

"What the hell…?" Inuyasha snarls, standing like he's ready to drag out and fight whoever's in the truck.

The smoke clears and I gasp when I see who's behind the wheel. It's Sesshoumaru…!

"Get in," He commands, glaring at the two of us.

"W-what?!" His younger brother growls. "Since when did you think you could tell me what to do!"

"….I said get in," The older one just utters again, sounding pretty scary. "Before I break your legs and put you in the backseat myself!"

"W-we should just get in," I stutter, reaching for the handle of the door, really not wanting to cause any unnecessary trouble. Inuyasha smacks my hand away.

"No! Not until we figure out what this bastard wants," He tells me.

Sesshoumaru rolls his eyes. "I guess you don't want to figure out how to get back to our time, dumbass," He glowers at Inuyasha briefly before starting to accelerate away – Inuyasha gasps at those words, and launches himself at the vehicle, grabbing the rear end of the truck, literally holding it back with his brute strength. Thank goodness there was no one else outside, how crazy would it be if someone saw that?! The wheels scream and scrape on the asphalt before the driver finally stops again. Inuyasha and I hop into the back seat immediately.

Sesshoumaru speeds off. I start to worry about cops pulling him over, and then I worry about how I'll explain to my mama that I just disappeared after walking out with Inuyasha…she trusts him, but still…! How _sketchy!_

"Tell me what's going on, Sesshoumaru," Inuyasha demands, gripping the back of the driver's seat.

"….You know what? Now I don't know if I should anymore, since you wasted my precious time in not getting in right away."

"The fuck? Then why did you bother picking us up?"

"Maybe I came to tell you I found something out. Or maybe I'll be driving you two to your deaths? Hmm. Who knows?"

My lower lip quavers and my eyes fill up with tears at those words. Was he just messing around in his sadistic way, or should I actually fear for my life?! You can never be too sure with this kind of guy…

Inuyasha whips his head around to catch my facial expression, his anger fading into concern for me, then back into rage again as he slams his fists on the back of Sesshoumaru's seat. "Dude! What the fuck! I could whoop your ass any day, but don't you _dare _threaten Kagome!"

"…Hmph," Is all Sesshoumaru responds with. We're all silent for a bit, and Inuyasha's sulking. There's some rock music playing quietly on the radio, and still, I'm wondering where the girl Rin is. And how this demon even got a car in the first place? And how he knows how to drive it?! As for his comment earlier…I guess it was just a joke, after all.

I watch out the window as he drives deep into the city, and then parallel parks expertly alongside what appears to be a really fancy bar. We get out and I wonder how he's hiding those long ears of his – they seem to just disappear underneath his hair, like normal human ears. But I know for sure I saw them looking like they normally did back at the apartment the other day. Some weird magic, or good self-control, I suppose. I didn't see where Inuyasha had kept that beanie he wears, but he had put it back on since we hopped out of the car.

I feel self-conscious in my short skirt and t-shirt, noticing all the guys outside the building staring at me. Inuyasha glares at all of them, putting an arm around my shoulder, and I blush really hard, not only at his protectiveness…but at how tall and handsome he looks doing it as it makes the other men look away…

We step into the bar. Someone at the front notices Inuyasha and I following Sesshoumaru, and makes a disappointed face. "Erm, I'm sorry, sir, I don't think your guests are also of age—"

"They're with me," Sesshoumaru states simply, but the terrifyingly cold undertone shuts up the employee, and we're allowed to slide by. Ahh…going to Miroku's parties with the beer and all was one thing, but this was totally something else.

Sesshoumaru walks ahead of us, past the restaurant and booth area, over to the actual bar-bar. He approaches a gorgeous woman sitting by herself at the bar, sipping something that looks very expensive. He stands beside her, leaning his elbow on the ledge as she notices him with a vaguely interested expression—

"Kagura!" Inuyasha hisses, recognizing her face. My jaw drops. How did she get here, too?! It really seems like…_everyone _got sent over…I thought it had just been some sort of mistake with only a few people getting mixed into Naraku's evil plot, but really, it's just like…our entire worlds got flipped upside down…with everything still in place.

She glances over at us, looking unhappy. "Oh? You brought that couple of brats with you, too? Darling. I'm disappointed."

I almost wouldn't have recognized her. Her hair is still up, but she's wearing a very tight and long pencil dress instead of her kimono, and it's in a rich, deep burgundy shade, wearing lipstick that matches, and plenty of cleavage to set the look off. The ensemble makes her auburn eyes look even redder. All the men here are looking at her lustfully, totally ignoring me now, and I feel like a childish baby in front of such a woman.

And all the women are staring at Sesshoumaru…wow, they're the center of attention.

Ah…and she called Sesshoumaru _darling…_my mind spins at the thought of a pairing like this. I could've never conceived it myself. But it's possible she means it like a slur, too – knowing her attitude.

"Explain what's going on," Inuyasha growls, crossing his arms.

"Naraku made a mistake," She gives a soft little smile. "For whatever reason…I'm not under his control anymore. But me telling you the other circumstances could endanger my life even more. So why should I?"

"I-it would be selfish to keep it to yourself," I interject. "We all want to go back! And stop him for good!"

"Yeah, you can just stay here in this world if you like it so much," Inuyasha grumbles. "We have a right to know why we are where we don't belong."

Kagura grins again, sipping her drink. I notice how Sesshoumaru is looking at her…it's weird, his face is as emotionless as ever, but the way his eyes follow her…hmm…

"Alright. Fair enough," She shrugs. "The completed _shikon no tama _sent everyone here, when Naraku made the wish on it to banish everyone to this time. It wasn't supposed to make everyone appear in the same city, much less the same _century…_the point was to punish everybody…" She takes another swig from her glass. "…I guess he couldn't control even that much. But we are all without our powers…except the priestess."

Inuyasha's mouth gapes open, and I feel a sharp pain throb in my chest at knowing his mind is suddenly full of Kikyou, at the mere mention of her. Especially after how we'd spent our afternoon. I'm full of selfishness out of nowhere…and I resent it.

"I think that the jewel she's been carrying around is a fake," Kagura says with a shrug, clearly not caring. "Naraku has the real one, still. With such an impure wish on it, it obviously didn't disappear."

"We have to get it back," I tell him, tugging at his sleeve. "We have to go find her and tell her."

Inuyasha looks at me with a really uncomfortable expression on his face. "Kagome…"

I can't be worrying about my insecurities now. "This is a massive problem…but shouldn't Kikyou know it's not the real jewel?"

Inuyasha, beside me, is bristling and ready for action – but we still don't know quite enough yet.

I'm recalling that time we were in the bedroom at Miroku's house, when he showed me the jewel he'd supposedly taken from Kikyou. I can't believe that was a fake. I guess…since that was before I'd regained my memory, I wouldn't have known any better anyways…I can't blame myself.

"Where is Naraku, then?" He demands. "He can't stay in hiding forever…!"

"Sorry, pup, I can't answer that," Kagura responds, still sounding like she doesn't care. I guess if she's finally free…why should she?

Inuyasha growls at being called a pup, but lets it slide. "Sesshoumaru. What are you going to do then?!"

"Hmph. I still intend to kill him myself. I just figured it'd be interesting to see which one of us gets to him first."

"But if none of us have our powers, just what can we do?" I muse, feeling anxiety creep into my body rapidly. An idea pops into my head that I should just go and find Kikyou myself – but like how I am with approaching the well…I'm just too scared.

"We'll get them back, of course," Inuyasha declares. "Come on, Kagome. Sesshoumaru wouldn't help us any more anyway."

"I guess he's done more than enough already," I sigh, following him as he stalks away.

* * *

As we leave, Inuyasha purposely goes out into the woods so he can carry me on his back and glide through the trees. I hug his shoulders tightly, clinging hard to this new closeness I feel being forged between us.

But the pervasive thoughts of Kikyou keep disturbing my happiness. Thinking about her fate just has me sad all over again.

"What's the matter?" Inuyasha asks me. "You keep sighing."

"We have to go find Kikyou," I tell him. "We have to talk to her. Or at least you do. She didn't listen to me last time."

He's silent for a while. "Kagome…I mean…I knew I had to do that at some point…but it's unlike you to actually tell me to…"

"It's happened before, and it'll happen again," I tell him, shutting my eyes tight. "I've accepted that. We can't help it this time, now that we know about the jewel she has."

"I have a really bad feeling about this," He replies, and I hate how we both sound choked up.

"Let's just get it over with now," I exhale, burying my face into his shoulder. I breathe in the soft light scent of cotton from his shirt, the slight musk of sweat, and his own scent itself. It calms me, at least a little.

"…Okay," He tells me back, understanding. He changes his course, and with a different determination, I know now we're on our way to see her – for real.


	12. Chapter 12

With it having gotten dark outside, the temperature has dropped quite a bit, and I cling onto Inuyasha's back a bit tighter than I was already holding on, forcing myself to not shiver with the wind passing. We'd been travelling through this forest for quite a while, and I'd had no idea it went on this far.

We get to a point where I realize we're passing through a barrier – I'm filled with surprise, seeing as this is Kikyou we're talking about; she usually didn't let anyone through them, except me, since I was usually able to for whatever reason…almost always on accident…

Then, the trees trickle away, and an ominous feeling takes over me as we land at the edge of a graveyard.

A graveyard…I suppose it's fitting. The only sound other than us touching the grass is the soft nighttime sounds of cicadas in the woods. I notice her sitting against one of the headstones, her back to us, only a sliver of the side of her body visible. Her long hair is down, and seemingly, so is her guard. Although we've come so close, she doesn't turn around. Surely she's noticed us come through the barrier.

Inuyasha glances at me from the corner of his eyes, yet I don't look back in time to catch it straightforwardly. He hesitates for a second before walking forward, approaching her. Does he hesitate because he's considering how I feel? Or is he just nervous to approach her? I want to think both…but…

The air is full of something I can't quite put a name to…when I breathe in, the scent that collects in my nose and the roof of my mouth reminds me of something. It fills me with so much sadness, I can't bear it. The sorrow feels so heavy, I almost want to cry.

That's when I realize what the scent is. Tears.

As Inuyasha gets close to her, I bite my lower lip. We _have_ to do this. Our circumstances are inextricably bound – we can't act like we have nothing to do with her…but I'm full of selfish and bitter feelings he isn't paying attention to.

I don't want him to see how I'm looking anyway. I'm sure…I had a horrible look on my face, right then and there.

Much slower than he has gone up to her, I follow. He kneels down at her side, looking at her with concern. I jealously recognize that expression all too well. Although the air smells of tears, she definitely isn't crying; her face is as straight as ever. She turns her head with what appears to be some effort.

"Inuyasha."

His ears prick forward at the sound of her saying his name.

"It's gotten bad, hasn't it?" He asks, cautiously.

_What's gotten bad? _That sounds so…so familiar! Like they are in on something that I'm not!

"I had to come here, since the souls I need to live are so abundant in a place like this…it's too taxing to be receiving them from the other side of the well…all the time…"

_The other side of the well. _I knew about her _shinidamachuu, _and now, as though at the thought, one of them comes floating by, dropping a sphere of bright blue light onto Kikyou's figure, and it dissipates in front of her as it's absorbed. It's odd how there's only one…usually there were several coming by at a time to deposit the souls of the dead before her…

Ah, it makes sense to me now. She has to be getting souls from this world and the _shinidamachuu _from beyond the well. No wonder she didn't look alright, she could only sustain herself on those souls so sparingly compared to before. A twang of sympathy courses through me, and I hold my hand to my chest, unsure if I should say anything.

"Why did you come," She asks, and I don't know if she means it for me, or Inuyasha, or both of us.

"T-the jewel," Inuyasha stammers. _I hate how formal he sounds. _"…the _shikon no tama…_about it. I…have bad news."

"I already knew it was a fake," She cuts him off softly, turning her cheek.

"What?" He gasps. "You knew?"

"When we were all banished to this world…" Kikyou starts, "…I made a wish on the jewel at the same time Naraku did. That…shouldn't have worked…but Midoriko's will made it so. Along with…whatever it was he intended, if I let go of this jewel, my life will fade."

Inuyasha gasps again and I guess he's just now realizing that that time he took it from her, he was inadvertently putting her in danger…all for a fake. He looks so sorry. Ugh, God, I _feel _so sorry.

She is clinging onto life, and I have no right to judge her.

"It's a fake…" She continues, "…that has the reversal of his wish on it. He wanted for it to be so, if I ever let it out of my possession."

Inuyasha's face is killing me. But…Kikyou's obvious sorrow is killing me too, and I want to help both of them, and I also want to run away. I think about the time we spent fooling around and I want to grieve for that wasted time, when we could have been figuring out how to help, how to deal with this.

"So Naraku has the real one," I finally speak – my voice coming out so small.

She pauses, just looking at me blankly before nodding. "Yes."

"Can't it be…purified?" Inuyasha asks, a slight crack in his voice.

Kikyou doesn't answer for a while, and I look at the jewel hard. It really did seem like the real thing…glittery and white, with the same luster as a pearl and a diamond combined. Yet…Inuyasha can't see the black glow sustained around its edges like Kikyou and I can. There is no purifying it. The whole thing carries the weight of that curse – its only purpose.

"That's not possible," She finally replies. "But Inuyasha. There is still a purpose for me here – and as long as Naraku exists, so will I. Think of this as the two halves of the jewel…the _naohi_ is what I carry…and his, the _magatsuhi…_"

She gets up, straining a little, but managing to do it. Inuyasha reaches a hand out as though to help her, but then pulls it away on second thought. She takes a few steps away, then looks over her shoulder…at me.

She looks like she wants to say something, but then she appears to change her mind. She blinks slowly, in masked sorrow, and slowly fades away into a soft glowing light in the shape of her silhouette…and is gone.

I glance over at Inuyasha, holding my own hands behind my back. Is he regretting the time he's spent, no, _wasted _with me until now? Does he wish he'd done something about Kikyou sooner?

"Kagome…" He starts. I want to dash off, but my feet are rooted to the ground. "…I know what you're thinking. I don't want to undo anything. I…I knew I'd have to deal with this kind of thing…when we got our memories back…sooner or later."

I stare at the grass by my feet, noticing the dew start to collect on the blades.

"I feel so sorry for her," I eek out, talking over the lump in my throat. I truly do. I hate that Naraku…managed to curse us all in my own world, in a time where slaying demons and powering up swords wasn't going to happen, or assist in any way. We are weaponless, and powerless, except for Kikyou…who is the most condemned of any of us.

Inuyasha just looks at me, with a really painful expression. He doesn't say anything, he just stares softly for a while as I look away. I want those eyes on me forever. He comes up to me then, his figure feeling warm, shielding me before the chill of the air, even without touching me at all. Part of me wants him to be all over me again after looking at Kikyou like how he had, and the other part just wants him to stay away.

I give into my weakness, leaning the side of my face against his chest. What a contradictory heart I have. He puts his hands on my arms, warming them slightly through my sweater sleeves, and then says, "Let's go back."

I nod, not sure why I'm still choked up, and he puts me on his back and we're off.

* * *

Inuyasha doesn't leave me at my doorstep like I'm sort of expecting him to – he climbs up through my bedroom window, setting me down on the floor, and I'm feeling our presence in our room from several hours ago…well, this late at night, it was yesterday technically, wasn't it? It feels so heavy, and taboo, to think of having all that fun, and then get caught up once again in the heartrending reality of our circumstances. My body is sore at the thought.

I'm staring at his face desperately. I notice he can't make eye contact. The silvery blue moonlight reflecting on half of his expression betrays something no words exist for – the other half, cast in shadow. I stand there trying to think of what I would call it…

"I'll see you later, Kagome," He tells me, sounding uptight, not even reaching out to touch me; he sounds ashamed of himself, like he regrets not bidding me goodnight properly – and I watch him with a searing pain in my heart as he disappears out my window again. I reach for the windowsill and shut it, surprised by the sensation of hot tears splashing onto the back on my hands.

Ah…I'm crying. Even if he's mine, even if I can have him all to myself, why isn't that enough for me?

I know their past. I know how cruel fate is. I know to blame Naraku, and not myself…and definitely not Inuyasha…

I can't stop crying! I slap my palms onto my eyes and throw my body down onto my bed, feeling like the sorest loser in the world. God, it's really late at night, I should be quiet so as to not wake up my family. I cry into my pillow and forget to even change into pajamas, or wash my face, or anything. I end up crying myself to sleep, like the baby that I am.

I want to think that I'm capable of wishing my memory regained, away.

But I'm not that selfish. I love him too much to truly want that. I love him too much to blame anyone for feeling this way, but myself.

* * *

In the morning, I end up predictably late for school. I look in the mirror after waking up and am aghast. Oh, Christ, these bags under my eyes are not cute…my tedious concealing job over those hickies on my neck had faded off…my hair was a bird's nest…

Since I'm late anyway, I try my best to salvage my appearance, but at best, I look awake, yet totally battered. I have _no_ appetite for breakfast. When I get to school, I'm shocked I make it to homeroom about twenty minutes before it ends. My teacher gives me a dirty look for walking in late, and seems about to scold me, but notices my face on second thought and mutters something about talking to me after class. This many late arrivals probably warranted me a detention.

My usual seat in front of Inuyasha is empty, and I take it, unable to even look at him, or be surprised he showed up. Sango and Miroku are staring exaggeratedly at me, faces overflowing with worry, and then they whip their heads around to glare at Inuyasha as though my mood was his fault.

Was it? Was it really? _No…! _It wasn't! I'm just being over-emotional, but wasn't that to be expected with such a weighted life-or-death situation regarding someone else?

I hear Inuyasha growling under his breath back at them, since he can't yell at them in the middle of the lesson. But then I hear this slamming sound on his desk and he shouts, "Ugh! I can't fucking take this anymore!" and throws his chair aside as he gets up, stalking out of the classroom and banging the door shut behind him.

The three of us in there who know him stare after his disappeared figure, jaws dropped. Everyone else looks freaked out or confused, and our teacher tells us, "I'm going to ask you all to ignore that…outburst."

Alarm pounds through my body and seizes my heart, sending it up into my throat. Sango is fighting to make eye contact with me and I look at her, my eyes brimming with tears again, and I wish we could read each other's minds so I could fill her in.

_Please tell me what's wrong! _Her face seems to scream, her mouth downturned so sadly for my sake.

_I have to go after him, _my own expression is shrieking, and…I do just that.

"K-Kagome-chan," She calls, starting to get up as though to go after me, but then deciding not to.

"Kagome!" Miroku says in surprise, also looking like he wants to follow…but I think they know they can't…not without knowing what happened…

I leave my bag behind and everything, and chase after him, running full-speed down the hallway, determined to make things straight between us again. I have to. _I have to!_


	13. Chapter 13

I luckily manage to catch Inuyasha's disappearing figure as it rounds the corner at the end of the hallway. I am sure he hears my feet pounding on the linoleum floor, coming for him; I am sure he can scent me from this distance. I would have chased him through the whole school, if I'd had to. My heart feels like it soars through the air, with the determination coursing through me to clear up whatever misunderstanding had happened. Even I myself didn't fully understand it, but…he couldn't just walk away! We have to be there for each other…isn't that the whole point of it all?

Even though he'd gotten out of the room so quickly, when I stumble before his back that is open to me, he's just walking, not running, like I was. I pant for breath momentarily, putting my hands on my knees, and he turns around to look at me with this face that just kills me…he's looking like he's trying to hide how he feels so hard. Why did he seem to think that would make me feel better?! It made me feel _worse!_

"You followed me?"

How redundant was that to ask? I_ know _he knew I was after him.

"Let's talk," I huffed out, straightening my back up and approaching him softly, slowly. It's like approaching an untamed wild animal. The tension is high, even in spite of that relatively blank expression…I feel it in his joints from where I stand, I see it in his eyes.

"About what?" He asks, the lack of emotion in his voice freaking me out. That's not like him. I know he's forcing himself to sound like that, but still.

"You're feeling all mixed up, I know," I breathe out, coming closer. _I…I want to comfort him._ _He's trying to act like what happened doesn't matter, for my sake, I know that much, deep down. _"…Inuyasha, I know how you feel…"

He just looks at me, eyes widening a little, letting his guard down – he parts open his lips like he wants to reply, then shuts them and glances away, and adjusts his beanie uncomfortably. Even with that attitude, his heart is wide open for me to see everything he's feeling, so easily.

Ah…this was going to be difficult.

"I couldn't stop crying about it last night," I confide in him, and he looks back at me quickly, searching the features of my face, eyelids lowering. I don't add that I cried over Kikyou's fate, or my own feelings regarding it. I just leave it at that. I feel like he understands, without me having to say it.

"…I could tell," He murmurs, that softness sneaking back into his tone, reassuring me a little.

"You could?"

"Yeah."

No wonder he hadn't been so happy to see me upon my arrival, knowing I had the look of last night's tears all over my face. He sighs out and leans back against some of the lockers, giving up his uninterested façade, thank God. He was such a bad liar anyway, I don't know why he thought that would work on me. His face…looks kinda sad to me, now that I'm closer. I keep my gaze averted, though, as I move my body to place it right beside his, our arms touching.

"You're probably in a lot of pain, I'm—"

"I'm sorry," He cuts me off, and we go quiet for having interrupted one another. We stare into each other's eyes for a while, and I feel his walls come tumbling down. My lower lip trembles. _Why is he apologizing to me?_

"I know this whole thing with Kikyou is hard for you to deal with, for a second time in a row," I whisper. "…that's why I was crying, it wasn't anything you did…I mean, we've been through this before, right? I know it's difficult for you…"

Inuyasha's eyes narrow as he takes in my words. "I'm sorry, because me hurting over her, hurts _you_, Kagome."

I'm a little shocked he's so considerate and honest about that. I smile bashfully, in the sad kind of way. "I made up my mind to stay by your side a long time ago," I mumble. "Did you forget that?"

"I'm not _supposed _to hurt you in the first place!" He yells all of a sudden, making me jump. His face is contorted with pain as he glares at the floor, gritting his teeth, balling his hands into fists. He slams one of them into the metal door behind him, leaving a big dent in it. My heart races from the shock, then I feel all these strong emotions for him start to overwhelm me.

"We're only in pain because of how much we care…" I tell him softly, and he looks at me, eyes alight, surprise spreading over his face. I reach for his hand that's closest to me, and uncurl his tightened fingers to spread them along the spaces between my own. I watch him, watching our hands hold on to each other. "…that's just what the heart does. It's okay, Inuyasha."

He's finally looking into my eyes, but he won't smile back...I know he's still angry about feeling helpless.

"I cried because I feel sympathy for Kikyou and yours circumstances. I feel awful we're all wrapped up in this. Again. But this isn't something for you to just act like you have to deal with all alone!"

I find myself raising my voice at him without meaning to, and he flinches. "Why else do you think I put up with you seeing her, huh?! You _idiot!_ I care so much, I _cry _for you, yet _you_ get _mad?!—"_

I let out a soft little cry as he rips his hand from mine and grabs me forcefully, cutting me off, and pulling my body into his arms. He slams me against his rock hard chest, wrapping his arms around me so tightly the air gets squeezed out of my lungs. I sigh out, my eyes welling up with tears again. Ugh. Being in love _sucks _sometimes. When it got all complicated like this…I sort of hated it.

"Sorry I tried to act like I didn't need you, Kagome," He mutters into my ear, his voice hot against my skin. "It's times like that…I probably need you more than I admit."

Even though I'm all teary-eyed, I smile, burying my face into his shirt, inhaling his masculine scent deeply; not even aware I could miss it so much from being apart for such a short amount of time. "Aw...it's unlike you to apologize so much, Inuyasha."

"…What, you want me to take it back?!"

_Oh, I see you're back to feeling like your normal self again, _I think sarcastically. I don't even bother replying, I'm just happy everything's okay again. That's enough for me.

* * *

Later on that day, Sango surprises me by dragging me up to the rooftop with her for lunch, to be joined by Miroku as well.

I clumsily fall against the fence as she lets go, with all that ridiculous strength in her arm I feel like a flung-around doll. "Kagome! We haven't talked in forever, so spill it all!"

I laugh nervously, sitting down beside Miroku, making sure my skirt covers me well enough next to someone as lecherous as him. "It was nothing really," I lie, and she has none of it.

"Hm, so that dramatic scene this morning was just staged? I have to say. What an incredible performance," Miroku tells me, sounding like he means it for real. He nods to himself approvingly, slurping ramen noodles from the cup he holds.

I glare at him, but then I can't keep staying mad, and I exhale with exhaustion. "Look, it was some really annoying complex stuff," I try to start, but I don't know where to begin. They don't know about how far Inuyasha and I had gone the other day, either…so that new bond being formed between him and I put anything between us on a whole other level.

They both look at each other, their eyes hooded with suspicion. "It's Kikyou," They say, at the exact same time.

"Eeeeehh?!"

_How did they know?!_

"When Inuyasha gets that look on his face, it's _so _obvious," Sango rolls her eyes and flips her hair, which she has down today. Miroku nods in heavy agreement.

"He gets that look about him like a kicked puppy with his tail between his legs."

"Don't tell me you forgave him again?" Sango sighs out, noticing my expression crumble as they continuously hit the nail right on the head.

"Look, I was with him when he met her the other night, and it was about Naraku's plot, how it involved her with having sent us all over to my time…it wasn't like…a rendezvous or anything like that…"

Their eyes perk up at the mention of Naraku, but they're still staring at me dubiously. "You forgave him," Sango mutters with knife-like accuracy, not letting it go. I get this feeling Miroku is more on her mind now than Inuyasha.

"I had to," I eek out. "It was a really sad scene, he didn't do anything wrong…! Naraku basically put a curse on her with some fake version of the _shikon no tama. _If she lets go of it…her life will end."

They both stare at me, the topic totally changed now. Finally they seem to get that it wasn't exactly a repeat of all those other times, with him and her.

"Hers is a fake?! Does that mean Naraku's is the real one?" Miroku asks urgently.

"Yeah," I sigh. "I have a bad feeling…that her letting go of that jewel has something to do with us getting back to the world beyond the well."

"What do you mean?" Sango asks, sitting down beside me now, since she'd been standing.

"I mean, I sort of just had this idea," I begin, sketching it out in my head. "If none of us have our powers or weapons…well, what if they were all contained in that fake jewel? The curse trapped all those abilities…inside of it? Kikyou can't purify that thing…and she's the only one who still has her spiritual powers while the rest of ours are apparently just sealed away…"

"That would make sense," Miroku states, putting his hand on his chin. He lifts out his right hand and opens his palm, looking at the blank space where the _kazaana _was. He frowns…and I know he's realizing that if we don't defeat Naraku before figuring out the situation with the fake jewel, he'll get it back once again.

"He just keeps screwing us over, doesn't he," Sango sputters. "I'm worried Kohaku's life is in danger now, since Kikyou is the one who saved him."

I gasp. "That's true…they're connected by the light she used to sustain his life after the shard was removed…Sango, no, don't cry!..."

She's not sobbing or anything, but the tears spill down her face unabashedly. I get up to kneel in front of her, so Miroku can put an arm around her shoulder comfortingly.

"We just have to beat Naraku…again…before anything happens to Kikyou."

Sango sniffs a little in response. "Yeah," She says quietly, looking away.

I let out a long sigh. This was so troublesome…for all of us.

* * *

When the school day ends, I'm almost surprised that no one like Kouga or Hojo is trying to harass me. I take my time at my locker, making sure I don't forget anything in there like I usually do. I haven't seen any of my other friends around…those girls were all busy with their studies while I had all this messed up stuff to deal with….

_Why can't my life just be normal?! _I sob inwardly, sighing for the hundred millionth time that afternoon, shutting my locker door softly. I usually slammed it. I feel like I don't even have the energy for something as simple as that.

I turn around to head home, and jump as I see Inuyasha's figure before mine.

"Ah! You scared me," I laugh nervously. When we'd parted earlier this morning, the mood was fine, but I'm still randomly feeling shy around him again…

He grins halfheartedly, and the ensuing serious look on his face freaks me out. It almost makes me miss his typical scowling expression. I…huh. I never thought that was possible.

"Kagome. Come with me," Is all he says, and my heart leaps into my throat. What the hell! Why is he being so _weird?!_ God, I really couldn't stand the opposite sex sometimes!

He takes my wrist and leads me away, and I swallow hard, trying to chill out. A couple of students that notice us are giving us odd looks, I guess it does seem strange to see a dude pulling a girl along with him so intently like that. Wow, with his delinquent look to everyone else who doesn't know him, I bet they think I'm getting kidnapped or something, but I guess it's ok since I don't scream.

I follow him out the doors, trying to prepare myself for whatever it is he intends to do with me.


	14. Chapter 14

I follow Inuyasha's lead through the city, to his apartment, I'm assuming (even though he hasn't told me yet), and we take a brief bus trip to hasten our arrival. I find it unusual he's not trying to put me on his back and fly through the forest, unseen…he had let go of my wrist once we left school, but now as we sit here on the bus, his hand is on top of mine. A few people notice and I'm blushing furiously, trying to not be too happy about his uncharacteristic Public Display of Affection!

I keep noticing how his eyes are so intensely set on me. I feel his gaze sweltering on my skin, full of meaning – crossing over my own eyes, my cheekbones, my legs – his sights on me hotter than the sun that pours through the window.

I'm purposely avoiding looking back, feeling bashful again. I…I still don't know what he desperately needs my time for so bad; to drag me out of school like that, and not even give me a chance to drop my stuff off at home first. Not like I don't want to be _giving _him my time!

It's just…well, _you know!_

We hop off the bus and the stop is practically right outside his apartment complex. We go up two flights of stairs, and at the top step I trip, and Inuyasha catches me.

"Haha, I'm sooo clumsy," I giggle, trying to ease this tension that I can't put a name to. He's not angry, for sure…and he's definitely not sad…I think I'm subconsciously repressing what I truly know is the source of that feeling.

He just grins back. "Heh. Good thing _I'm_ here."

I sort of smile, intrigued by the return of his cockiness. That dumb episode in the hallway this morning…_really _made me prefer him when he was being honest like this. I feel like I've forgiven him. He _was_ trying his best…in a way.

"Yeah, good thing," I say softly, walking ahead of him as he opens his door. He smirks, liking my tone, I think. I raise my eyebrows at him when I realize no one else is home.

"Where's Shippou-chan?" I ask, as he locks the door behind us.

"I sent him out to play or whatever," Inuyasha shrugs, stretching and yawning, and then we take off our shoes. "He gets annoying, being pent up in here all day."

"What…?! You can't just send him out like that! He's only a child," I groan. "…Huh, and Sesshoumaru's gone-?"

He interrupts me by cutting off my speech with his mouth. I get pressed up against the wall inadvertently, and mumble something inaudible through the kiss, acting like I could still talk, which was stupid. Goosebumps explode down the sides of my arms where his hands are gripping on.

"Inuyasha," I gasp out, as he breaks away from my lips. "What're you—?"

"I felt like such a dumbass, acting like I didn't need you," He mutters, bringing those kisses down the side of my jaw, my throat, my collarbone. I can't stop shivering, weakly attempting to push him away, forgetting intimacy needs not reason. "But I do, Kagome."

I feel so overwhelmed. "This is so sudden," I exhale, as he pulls away again to just look at me intensely with his brows furrowed, his hand propped up against the wall, right next to my head.

"How I feel isn't sudden," He growls at me.

"Oh? B-but your actions are," I retort, bringing my hands up to my chest. My face feels so hot and everywhere his lips had touched is singing. I know my face is like a tomato. But…I don't like how he's going about this, for some reason!

"I guess you're right," He rolls his eyes and breaks off, walking away a few steps, and kind of glares at me over his shoulder. He's blushing too…yet his eyes are practically screaming in spite of his attitude, _Please. Come here._

I let him stalk off and stand there with my back pressed against the wall, my heart stuck in my throat, sort of confused about where this is going to lead to. I realize, then, what's going on. He still _is_ hurt, but he's reaching out to me. He regrets pushing me away earlier, like he'd implied in his words to me a moment ago…so now he's trying to make himself as close as he physically, possibly can.

_Or he could just be being a typical horny teenage boy,_ I think with a sigh, more embarrassed than ever. I guess if he's wanting to close that gap between us again, Kikyou isn't on his mind, and I should be able to rest assured about that.

Being in love…meant being strong, didn't it? I _have_ to stop letting my heart waver. Especially since he was trying so hard for me, too. I mean…he refused to go to her this whole time, after all. He's stayed with _me_, after all. And he never used to do that so consistently, five-hundred years ago. I take a deep breath, and prepare myself.

He's just about to enter his bedroom and I wonder if he'll try and shut the door on me, but I go after him, hugging his back; and I'm happy his body doesn't respond with surprise, but rather, softens at my touch, becomes warm. I press my cheek against his spine, hearing the _thud thud _of his heart through his ribcage.

He pulls my hands apart, and turns around to face me, and as he does I reach for his hat and pull it off, grinning a little while I throw it onto the floor. He grins back, his precious face no longer looking like he thought loneliness was better than this. I go up on my tiptoes to greet his kiss.

His large hands comfortably fit right at the narrowest part of my waist, fingertips pressing into my hips; I wrap my arms around his shoulders and start to feel like I'm falling from standing on my toes, but he notices, and picks me up; he practically throws me over his shoulder as he slams the door shut behind us, and tosses me onto his bed.

I let out a laughing cry as I bounce on the mattress and he leaps on top of me, smothering me in more kisses and then pausing to bury his face into my chest. He lets out a sigh, just holding onto me for a while, and I wonder if my heart is echoing in the room for how loud I hear it throbbing in my ears.

"Your heartbeat is freakin' out," He tells me, like I'm not super self-conscious of it already.

I blush harder and frown. "It's your fault," I tell him.

He frowns back at me. "Keh. I can blame you for plenty of things that happen to my body too, but you don't hear me doin' it."

I actually get mad for a second before I realize what he means, and then I just smile, feeling empowered at being able to do those kinds of things to him. Like before, I think of all those times he acted grossed out by my girlhood and I can't help but laugh.

"What's so funny?" He demands, pinching my cheek like a little kid.

"You used to act soooo disgusted by me when we met," I cover my mouth from giggling so much, noticing he's trying really hard to not let a smile come through. "I just find it kind of…cute! Knowing the truth now."

"God, how could I feel anything for you but adoration," He murmurs, serious all of a sudden again, pushing his face back down into the crevice of my shoulder and kissing the skin there very tenderly. My eyes go wide, my cheeks redder than humanly possible at this point, I'm sure. Since when could he talk so smooth like that?! I almost feel my loins light on fire at his voice saying such things. Oh, no, no _no no!_

Almost as if he can sense what's happening within me, he brings one of his hands down my side, and I feel him watching my face as I shut my eyes tight at the sensation of his fingertips across the fabric of my clothes, and then them running down my bare thigh.

He's doing it sort of absentmindedly, like the same way you twirl your hair or tap your toes on the floor, his hands just can't stay off me. I finally open my eyes to gaze into his, shifting over onto my side so we're facing each other on the bed.

Ahh…he brings that wandering hand up to place it on my cheek, and I put my own hand on top of it, holding on tightly...

"You're so much gentler than before," I murmur softly, and it escapes my mouth before I even think about saying it. I almost want to take it back, not sure how he'll react.

Inuyasha's amber gaze flickers at me saying this. "…Maybe because I was so scared before you got your memory back," He mutters in response, drawing his thumb across my lower lip. "I feel like I can't let you forget, _ever_ again."

"You think I'd forget you? How _could _I?"

"Well, I wouldn't _let _you in the first place," He whispers fiercely, and now he's back to blushing again, like me. "…that's probably why I'm…like this…"

I give him a big smile and reach out for his ears, tugging at them playfully. "Awww! I wish you could hear how sweet you sound, I'm so happy!"

He frowns and gets even more embarrassed. "O-oy! See?! It's all your fault!"

I surprise him by kissing him first and he responds excitedly, roughly pulling my body into his even closer without hesitation. Wow, what a way to make up for all the times I'd wanted us to kiss and we didn't – our hands are all over each other, grabbing hair and fistfuls of clothing as our tongues meet with the feeling of electricity. His encircles mine and I feel like I'm falling.

Our clothes start to feel so hot; he separates himself from me to take off his shirt and pull my own over my head, and aggressively throws them onto the floor. I gasp in shock as he reaches for the back of my bra and undoes it with one hand, casting it aside like it was nothing.

I just stare at him, and he smirks at me and doesn't brag, surprisingly, just going to press his mouth to my exposed skin and let his tongue linger over one of my nipples…is Miroku responsible for telling him how to do the bra thing?! I'd been so overheated and now I was cold again, but his hands are keeping me warm. He grabs the other one with his whole hand, squeezing it hard, and I let out a quiet cry.

"No one's home," He reminds me, in a sort of teasing way.

I almost want to stay silent to get back at him for last time. I think he notices that crossing my mind, as I close my mouth resolutely, and he gives me this evil grin that fills me with anxiety. I inadvertently yell out as he grabs the sides of my undies under my skirt and slams them down to my ankles.

"A-ah!"

He shoves my thighs upward and apart, bringing his mouth down onto my sex eagerly, and I try wrestling with his head but he won't let go. Oh my god, it feels so fucking good – pardon my French, but…! _Oh, god!_

"I-Inuyasha!" _I can't believe he's doing this so suddenly!_ Way to totally just skip second base! Well, I guess he'd done it for, like, a minute, but…oh God…it feels so incredible I can't even care anymore; his tongue laps through the folds of my lips, and then he starts to suck. I could cry but I'm holding my arm over my mouth, essentially suffocating myself.

"Stop that," He mutters angrily, snatching my wrist and throwing my arm away from me. He goes back to eating me out and I moan out really loudly in spite of myself. I can feel him smiling.

He manages to surprise me even further by slipping one of his fingers into me, and then another right after. Wow…it didn't even hurt like before. This feeling of hot light starts to gather in my center as he's doing both and I grab handfuls of his hair, shaking all over, begging for a control that he won't give me.

Ah…I'm…I'm—

I throw my head back with a cry as a really intense orgasm suddenly overtakes me, and he keeps going, even though I'm throbbing so powerfully. My own voice floods my ears – I can't stop. I shut my teeth together to stop moaning, but it comes out through them anyway, and I feel my thighs clamping around the sides of his head, and as it ebbs and fades away he lifts himself up to lean over me. I stretch out my body beneath him, absolutely submissive now; and almost intimidated by knowing that he could make me come harder than I could make _myself_.

He can't know that.

"That didn't take you long," He remarks at me laughingly. I try to catch my breath, narrowing my eyes at him and the fact I'm still blinded by seeing all these stars. "You must have been wanting that for a while."

I just gasp. How _did _he learn to talk like that?! Was this a new side of him I just had never known before…?

I remember that first time we made out here on his bed, when I'd freaked out and pushed him away – I'm recalling my thoughts about how he had such a propensity to be rough! Oh my God. So that's what this is. I feel like I'm in way too deep now.

But after coming that hard, my body is absolutely chilled out. I don't feel any panic about him continuing to touch me and pull off my skirt, and start kissing my neck. I let out all these soft sounds that I never thought he'd hear me make in my entire life, digging my nails into his shoulders for support. His long hair coats the sides of his arms, settling around me like we have a canopy over us. Okay, that sounds dumb actually, but it's romantic, the way my black waves mix in with his white strands…almost as cliché as…yin and yang…

He kisses my lips, and I taste myself on his tongue…and I like it.

He takes both my hands with one of his, sliding it down to my wrists, and pushes them upward, his muscular chest pressing hard against mine. He holds my hands above my head while he fumbles with his jeans, taking them off. My heart starts to race uncontrollably, realizing what this could lead to, like...for real.

"Tell me if I should stop," He mutters into my ear, kissing the lobe and pulling at it with his teeth, sending chills down my spine. Out of nowhere, before I slip into total bliss once again, I remember what was bothering me in the first place.

"M-maybe we should wait," I sputter all of a sudden and he raises his eyebrows at me in surprise, letting go of his holding me down, and propping himself up above me on his elbows.

"Wait? What for?" He's trying sooo hard to be patient with me…I don't blame him, we get interrupted twice and now that there's finally a time we're totally alone…

"Until after this thing with being stuck in this world gets, y-you know, sorted out…"

Inuyasha looks so exasperated, struggling with his concern over our circumstances on top of probably dealing with the pain of potentially getting blue-balled.

"Do you think I'm going to run off to Kikyou once I'm done with you?" He asks flatly, like he can't believe me.

Oh my God. He read right through me. I feel my eyes well up with tears.

"You won't, will you?" I whisper, grabbing onto his shoulders. This feels so wrong to be talking about while we're naked, or at least, while I completely am, and he almost is.

"I won't," He growls, and I'm stunned by his conviction. He sounds so clear. There is no hint of doubt or uncertainty in his voice like there used to be about her. His honey gaze goes all the way through me, the truthfulness apparent. I almost…don't _want_ to trust how much he means that_. _But he won't break eye contact with me, and I'm genuinely believing him.

"…You better not be saying that just because I might let you sleep with me," I pull at his ear hard, still battling the lump in my throat, and he winces.

"I'm _not!"_" He snarls back at me. "Fuck, Kagome! I…"

His face turns red and I recognize the first letter that almost came off the tip of his tongue, and my mouth falls open in surprise. The tearfulness leaves me instantly.

He flattens his ears against his hair, looking really aggravated. "I'm…"

Is he…trying to say what I think he is? _Ah…!_ I hold onto his arms tighter.

"Kagome, I'm—"

* * *

_(*gasp* a cliffhanger! after all that action, too?! i know you guys probably hate me by now, lmao. please hang in there. it'll get real good, i promise. :D xoxo)_


	15. Chapter 15

_(hopefully, my dear readers, you get everything you wished for with this installment ;) plot to continue as scheduled for the next chapter! xx)_

* * *

I hold my breath so hard I get dizzy. Inuyasha's face before me is bright pink, his gaze fixed on mine so intently my eyes feel like they're flickering in and out of focus. Our bare skin touching; our chests pressed together still is causing sparks, like I almost expect each movement to give off those bright lights of static.

The way my name sounds on his tongue is so…I don't know, it sounds like how him protecting me from danger feels.

His lips are parted open with impending words, then he shuts them. I let out a little surprised noise as he abruptly removes himself from me, and brusquely starts reaching for his clothes on the floor. I reach my hand out for him, but he's already a bit too far. I sit upward, pulling my thighs together, the air chilling me now that he's not on top of me anymore, and I just stare at him in disbelief.

_He's…he's just gonna leave me hanging, because he can't say it?_ I look away, not sure why I got so excited. I bite my lower lip, wanting to cry for real now, none of that girly exaggerated stuff from earlier.

Inuyasha gets dressed, leaving his shirt unbuttoned and open, then comes back to sit in front of me on the bed. He is gazing away for a moment…before staring into my eyes intently. I was trying to keep a disinterested face, but I can't not stare back, with poorly hidden hope etched all over my expression, I'm sure.

"Kagome. I-I'm…ahem. Um. I'm in love...with _you_."

I slap my hands over my mouth.

With me! He's in love. _With me!_

"W-why'd you get dressed to say it?!" Is the first thing I can manage to splutter out, reaching for the front of his shirt and shaking him, my eyes tearing up. I'm so happy and confused I can't control myself. "Making me wait like that?! _Inuyasha!"_

"I didn't want you thinking I was just saying it for the sex," He snaps at me, embarrassedly running a hand through his hair…his cheeks super red as he steals a glance at my body. Ah, I forgot I wasn't clothed like him.

I cover my chest with my arms. "Inuyasha…!" I choke out, overflowing with feelings. I'm so ecstatic I can't articulate anything else. I forget to try and act modest and throw myself at him again, burying my face in his shirt, crying like a total baby.

"Guah?! Wait, w-why're you crying?!" He grabs my face and wipes away the tears, looking freaked out and frustrated with me. "Stop it!"

"I'm_ not_ crying!" I scream at him.

"Why are you yelling at me?!" He shouts back.

"WHY ARE WE SCREAMING!"

"I DON'T KNOW?!"

I laugh so hard my stomach hurts, wiping my face on his shirt. "Thank you, Inuyasha," I sob, looking into his eyes adoringly, my heart throbbing with such a cathartic ache at the intensity of what I was feeling for him.

"Now you're thanking me? You're so weird," He tries to say this like it's an insult, but he's looking really cheerful too, which made it even funnier.

I find myself draped across him, and our laughing subsides. I pull myself into him closer, tightening my arms around his shoulders. I want to say it back, but now I'm shy, and my smile fades as I whisper out, "I…y'know, l-love you too—"

I barely catch the look on his face when he swiftly grabs my cheeks and kisses me really hard, our teeth bumping kind of painfully, but the passion makes up for it. He pushes me down onto the mattress with his body and we're making out again. Did…did this mean we were going to continue what we'd been doing earlier? God, with what _those _hands, and _that _mouth could do, I think I wouldn't mind.

Then someone knocks on the door; not to his bedroom, but the front door. He ignores it and keeps kissing me, but I unfortunately don't have a one-track mind like that.

"Y-your door," I stutter out, the moment I get a chance to catch my breath.

"Fuck 'em," He growls sexily, planting his lips on my throat again, sucking really hard. I cry out with how good it feels, but I'm so distracted. What if it's Shippou? Locked outside all alone while we're getting it on? Aw, now I almost feel sad…

But Inuyasha isn't allowing me any opportunities to remind him someone out there might be waiting, he's making sure my body and my mind are fully saturated with nothing else except him. I guess it could just be a delivery guy or something, too, I suppose.

He starts to take off his clothes again and I blush immensely when he actually takes his boxers off too, and he's naked for real, his hard-on springing up almost as if at the sight of me, and now I want to laugh, but it's actually a bit of a turn-on, and not really funny since we're so in the mood. I notice that he's uncut. Well…obviously, that doesn't shock me. And I also notice how big it is again, and I swallow, kind of nervous now, if this really is gonna happen…

_I might cry again, _I think.

I lie down beneath him, stretching out fully, letting my eyes take in the length of his whole body above me. He's slender, yet muscular and sinewy in such a sexy way, and the light smattering of hair down the center of his chest connecting above his navel is dark, unlike the hair on his head. The sunlight cast on his slightly-chiseled face paints him beautifully.

He starts to kiss me but then pulls away. I open my eyes, wondering why?

"Don't you _ever _think I'm going to leave you," He proclaims forcefully all of a sudden, blushing a bit, but still looking really intense as he grips the sheets tightly in his fists. "Please Kagome. I never will. Not after I already lost you once."

I put my hand on his forehead to see if he's feverish, and he looks confused, then glares at me and moves my hand away. He mutters under his breath, "…I mean it."

I smile, and by now my cheeks are sore from doing it so much. "I didn't know it was possible for me to love you even _more!_"

"Heh," Is all he replies with, and goes back to caressing my lips with his. Ah…he's all mine…he really is all mine, I feel so safe and assured and more wanted than anything. I really feel it, for real – he'll _never_ let me out of his sights again.

When he moves away to kiss elsewhere, I catch his eyes and we just gaze longingly at each other for a while…the longingness slowly turns into lust.

I give him a little nod. My consent.

I think he understands – he kisses my collarbones, my sternum, bringing himself back up…brushing my fringe out of my eyes…he braces up his shoulders and he moves himself above me a bit more and I feel the tip of his excitement pressing hard against my entry.

Oh God. I freeze up all over and gasp out a bit before he's even actually trying to put it in, as the length of it slides upward…my whole body is recoiling away, but he positions himself with his weight on me to hold me down a bit better so I'm not practically curling up in a ball out of fear of the inevitable hurt that's about to happen.

"W-wait, Inuyasha," I breathe out, and he lifts his head up to look at me with a slightly dazed expression. "You…y-you need to put on…a condom…before you…"

"Ohh," He exclaims, coming back to reality, and he moves away from me to reach around under his bed. "...Miroku gave me this as a joke," He looks at it, unwraps it, puts it on. "…I never thought I'd get to use it."

"Liar," I smirk at him.

"Haha, ok, maybe I _thought_ I might." He goes back to aligning our hips, his arousal readied at mine, and I'm scared all over again, but at least glad I remembered the most important part. He holds himself up with one hand, using the other one to grasp my waist, and steady me.

I know I'm going to need to relax, or else this won't work. But it's so difficult. He hides his face in the crevice of my neck and shoulder, holding me still, and I start digging my nails into his arms really hard. He groans a bit like that hurts him; I'm holding my breath while he's breathing pretty hard, and the head slips into me so suddenly after all that pressure of trying to shove it in. I cry out and bury my face into his chest, really not enjoying how much this hurts. At all.

"I'm sorry," He gasps out, trembling slightly with the effort. "Fuck…forgive me, Kagome."

I can't quite say it's okay. I have to bear it as best as I can. I would say it's not his fault, but…I mean…it kinda is? I wince really hard as he presses himself into me further, even more, it's almost surreal that this is really happening at the same time it feels like I'm getting split in half from my center upward.

"Aah…!"

His body shakes from the exertion, and I moan out a lot louder than I intend to with how badly this hurts, as it slams up against the end of inside me. I think that's as far as it can go. That _should _be. I cling onto him, panting for breath, my legs shaking. He's trembling all over, though, almost more than me.

He stops moving. Thank God. I've broken out into a sweat across my forehead and my back, exhaling with a shudder right before he does too, but wow, the animalistic way his voice escapes his throat has me reconsidering hating how this feels, despite the searing pain coursing through where he's inside now.

"Are you…ok?" He pants out, lifting his flushed face up again to look at me. He puts his hand on my cheek, and I lean my face into it, shutting my eyes tight with a reluctant little nod for _yes._

"I feel so bad," He mutters. "You're in a lot of pain…because of me."

"That can't be helped," I breathily reply, opening my eyes to look into his forgivingly.

He pushes himself up above me a bit higher, the movement of his body exacerbating the pain of where we're connected and I bite my lip hard to not cry out again. He lightly pushes my thighs apart from where I'd been holding them tight against his. At least half the pain goes away, and I stare at him in surprise.

"You can't be all tensed up," He says softly.

"Well don't you sound like an expert."

"Keh…just on your body, Kagome."

_Woah…! _I smile a bit and he comes down to kiss me and then he starts to push himself in and out, and I yell out again as I feel like I'm being torn in two. He pauses and looks at me with a desperately confused face.

"I can't _not _move," He complains frantically.

"Yes you can," I snap, and he just gives me a _look_.

"…Hey. You know that's…not how this works."

I look away, embarrassed that I can't act all cool about this. _Of course I knew that, you dummy._

I decide to stop whining as he starts to move into me again, shrugging his body upward, his hipbones hitting mine, bringing them out rhythmically. I can tell he's trying to be careful and slow, but still. I shut my eyes hard, listening to his sexy intensified breathing and focusing on that instead. It must feel good for him, with how ridiculously tight I am. _Well, that's great_, I think a bit bitterly.

Ah…I'd had all these romantic and daydreamy images in mind of how our first time would be, and I never even thought about the technicalities, the reality of it all. I wish so hard for the agony to go away and get replaced by all that blissful pleasure I'd imagined. I suppose I can't blame him for being so hung. And I almost want to laugh. How would I even tell Sango about this later? Do her and Miroku…do this kind of thing together, too?

I bring my hands up around Inuyasha's shoulders; even if being physically closer is pretty much impossible, I find myself greedy for more comfort. My breasts get pressed hard against his pecs, the light tinge of our sweat rubbing off on one another. He brings his mouth onto mine, kissing me fervently while I pull at his ears and bury my hands into his long silky hair. He speeds up his pace and…with a wave of shock coursing through me, I realize it doesn't hurt anymore.

There's some soreness, but overall, it's…! "Inuyasha!" I gasp out – I want to tell him but the words won't form. He looks at me with so much feeling, I think he gets it. It's almost like he stiffens more, he goes in deeper, and I tilt my head back with a moan that feels like it escapes from the depths of every sexual fantasy I'd ever repressed.

He moans back, quieter though, thrusting into me so deeply I all but scream – he inhales sharply like he wasn't prepared – his whole body gives a shudder, and as he exhales his voice comes out more, and I swear it's the sexiest, most primal noise I'd ever heard…listening to how our bodies affect each other so immensely like this.

The bedframe is rocking. I think of how his neighbors must be judging us.

"Kagome," He gasps out my name while pounding into me, and I hope he doesn't expect me to be able to coherently reply because of that. Out of the blue, I start to feel that throbbing feeling come back again, and my mind and body get sent into subspace. I had _never_ felt anything like this before, until now. Some kind of burning intensity starts to wave upwards at my core, lapping at my sex from the inside out…and then, like in a flash of fire, it overtakes my entire being, and I hold onto Inuyasha for dear life, coming so hard I feel like I'm going blind.

It happens almost before I realize it, that insane orgasm I'd never experienced before, and as my senses finally return to reality I see him crumble with laughter, pressing his face into my chest.

"Wh-what's so funny..?" I beg, still shivering from the waist down from the spasms.

"I felt that happen, that was fucking _intense_," He laughs softly, stroking my face to soothe me. "Damn, Kagome…! I'm…heh. I'm almost jealous."

"Wow," Is all I manage to breathe out, still strongly afflicted. "You…you do me good."

"Of course I do," He brags, picking up where he left off, sending me reeling with pleasure again. "I'm _supposed _to—"

Almost as soon as those words leave his mouth, he interrupts himself with a drawn-out moaning sigh, and his body gives an immense shudder. He arches his back as he thrusts into me so hard it hurts all over again. I let out a pained sound as he's gasping for air, wondering what the hell is wrong with him.

His arms shake a bit and then he collapses on top of me, and I wheeze out with the air getting shoved out of my lungs from his weight.

"I-Inuyasha!"

"Fuck," He sputters, out of breath, kissing my temple lazily. "…So much...for doing you good."

Oh. I get it now. I guess he's done. I laugh weakly at his bad joke.

"You're funny!…keep going."

"….."

He wasn't kidding? Aaahh! I cover my mouth in surprise, not wanting to say anything in case he gets mad. He's scowling at me while blushing contradictorily, and he leans his chin on his propped up hand, drumming his fingers on the mattress with his other.

We're silent for a while, looking at each other with what I can't mistake as a shared incredulity.

"…I'm pretty sure I can do better than that," He drawls on, tracing little circles on my chest, like he's trying to win my favor again.

"Oh? You'd know?" I narrow my eyes at him.

"Well it was my first fucking time, I barely noticed it coming! You tell _me!"_

He's getting sooo worked up over nothing! Besides, didn't those two things he said cancel out…? Oh jeez, and that unintended pun, too. I just giggle. It must have felt so good to have been that fast. He glares at me, blushing still, but letting a bit of a warm smile come through.

The front door gets knocked on again. I feel my face light on fire. I had _to-tal-ly _forgotten about that happening in the first place…that meant…that meant someone _waited _outside…while we were banging…

"FUCK OFF!" Inuyasha screams out towards the door, and I cringe at how loud and vulgar he is.

The door just gets knocked on harder in response to his shouting. He sighs in frustration. "I don't wanna get it," He grumbles, removing himself from me and flopping onto his side. Ah, it feels so weird, the way he takes himself out of me all of a sudden like that.

"B-but what if it's important?" I stammer, grabbing his shirt that was besides us, and using it to cover me up. "I-I mean…they waited there this whole time clearly…" I add out in a tiny whisper, "…And they probably heard me on top of that…"

He flickers his ears up at me. "Oh?" Then his little smirk grows into a big one. "Keh! Then they'll know just how good I am!"

I gasp at him. Did he not care about privacy at all?! "_O-OSUWARI!_"

He flinches and then we both remember it still won't work. I frown and blush in humiliation as he laughs at me. "HAH!"

Whoever it is up front knocks again…Inuyasha finally throws himself off the bed with a super-annoyed whiney groan and throws away the condom, slamming his clothes back on his body like a little kid throwing a tantrum. I button up his shirt halfway as I wear it, and slide on my undies, and start to nervously follow him before this awful pain shoots through my…um, well.

"What's wrong?" He whirls around and his face is full of concern as he places his hands on my arms.

"Oww…I'm sore," I complain, blushing harder as I pull his shirt down bashfully. He gives me a genuinely sympathetic look.

"Ah…I'm really sorry, Kagome," He says compassionately, kissing my cheek. "It seemed like you were having fun, though," He adds as he moves away slightly, a bit of that devilish grin sneaking back into his face. "Don't worry...I'll just tell them to go away and leave us alone."

I start to protest, then I shut my mouth, happy with that. He turns around, occupied with the door now. I hide behind him fully, just barely peeking out my eyes around his shoulder to see who it is as he opens it.


	16. Chapter 16

It's…Miroku and Sango! And I glance down as I see Shippou below them with his arms crossed, tapping his little foot impatiently. The two of them look at Inuyasha with surprise, and they blush a bit as they notice me. I squeak in terror, running off to go get my skirt, and as I come back I hide behind Inuyasha even more…not sure why I returned, instead of obscuring myself in his bedroom for the rest of eternity due to how humiliating this is. Thankfully his body in the doorway conceals my running away in my underwear like a fool.

"Oh, _now_ you answer the door!" Shippou yells at Inuyasha. "I waited out here for sooo long!"

_Ohmygod. Then how long did Sango and Miroku wait out here too?! _I wonder desperately, actually…not wanting to know the answer anymore.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?!" Inuyasha demands…forgetting he's shirtless. Forgetting how risqué this all looks.

"We came by after hearing from Kagome's friends how you dragged her out of school today," Sango says, sounding quite unhappy with him.

"But I suppose everything is okay, though," Miroku sighs out. He looks at Sango and they're blushing awkwardly. "…Well, we only waited out here for like a minute or so, so seeing Shippou locked out was a surprise." _I hope they aren't lying._

_Is he going to let them in, or send them off? _I don't know which I'd prefer or hate more. It hurts to even be standing. I'm excited it's them, and not anyone else…yet, still…a little selfishly, I want Inuyasha all to myself for today…but they were right to be concerned for my sake. It makes me smile, happy all the way through to get spoiled with such loving attention from everyone.

"Yeah, and what was with all the screaming?" Shippou keeps shouting at Inuyasha…aw, man, this was so bad…thank God he's just a little kid…Sango puts her hands on her cheeks, like _Oh dear, _and Miroku is trying to hide a knowing smirk.

"W-we were just playing video games!" I interject, before Inuyasha can start beating him up.

"Wow, it sounded like you were losing really badly, Kagome!" Shippou says, his face lighting up like he totally understands.

I just stay silent, not even sure how to respond to that as we all blush, so embarrassed on behalf of each other.

"Y-yeah…hah…" I start to say...then immediately regret it. Sango raises her eyebrows at me. Oops.

"Well, we wanted to be sure Kagome-chan was ok," She says forcefully, shouldering past Inuyasha and entering the apartment to come over to me hiding behind his back. Miroku and Inuyasha share this _look _like they want to start yelling excitedly, but they say nothing and he lets them in resignedly, shutting the door with an exasperated sigh.

I stare at Inuyasha frantically, begging him to save me from Sango's determination as he watches me with a wistful look getting dragged into a separate room by her – oh, of course, into his bedroom where we just had been, and slams the door shut. She takes one glance at the tousled sheets and blankets, puts her hands on her hips, then gives me this huge, sly grin.

"Sooo, you two-!"

"It's not what you think!" I interrupt her, my face burning from excitement and shame at pretty much getting caught. Why deny it? With the messed-up hair, the quavering legs, the messily-buttoned shirt of his I wear…

"Riiight, video games," She remarks, glancing at the TV…that has clearly been off.

"Okay, maybe it is," I resign myself to the truth…I think about how people always say a room smells like sex afterward. Does it? Gah, I can't ask her that. "…Anyways…Sango-chan, he confessed to me!"

She gasps, her eyes lighting up. "He did?! Freaking _FINALLY!"_

"One thing…just lead to another," I press my fingers together nervously and happily. "It was kinda romantic and…funny…that's why he pulled me out of school like that…you know how he is…"

"Aww, Kagome," Sango praises me like an older sister. "I'm glad he finally came to his senses!"

"For real!" I breathe out, his voice echoing the word _love _in my mind over and over...I hug myself with the warmth it brings.

"…So how was it?" She cuts right to the chase, interrupting my romantic illusion.

"Um…It hurt," I whine. "I wanted to cry it was so bad. It…kinda ended…right after it started feeling good."

"Oho," She puts her thumb on her chin in a thinking manner. "Sounds like he's well-endowed. I guess that makes sense! Since he is a _hanyou _after all…"

"S-Sango-chan!" I cry, totally busted, and she just laughs at me.

"Kagome-chan, stop being so shy! I couldn't stop laughing when Miroku told me about giving Inuyasha that condom. He got sooo mad and embarrassed, acting like he was getting _pranked_ when we were just trying to help you two out!—"

She stops talking briefly as we hear hooting and celebratory yelling happening on the other side of the door. She rolls her eyes while I blush furiously…they might as well just yell it out the windows and to the whole world from the rooftop while they were at it…

"…Anyways! Ignore them. Boys are so dumb."

"So you and Miroku…do that kind of thing too?" _Jeez, why am I censoring myself so much? I'm such a baby._

Sango laughs. "Yeah…it was kind of like how you put it. One thing lead to another when we got our memory back, at one of those parties he threw." She narrows her eyes as she looks into the distance, growing aggravated all of a sudden. "…You know what a perv he is." Then her angry look fades into a dreamy one. "…He's just so experienced…"

I blush even more, if that was possible. "Wow…so like…was it painful for you too, Sango?"

"Kinda…but it gets sooo good after that first awkward time. I promise!"

"Wow…! Really? I mean…I got off once, but—"

Without even saying anything, her shocked look alone interrupts me.

"What…is that weird?"

"I mean not really, but usually girls don't the first time I've heard, due to the pain from being nervous and all…well, lucky you, Kagome," She winks at me and I laugh and am embarrassed all over again. Huh. I guess that _was _pretty special. For all I know I deserved it, putting up with all that agony and whatnot!

"Come on, let's go see what they're doing now," She pulls me up by my hand and leads me out the door. "I just wanted to be sure you were okay."

I wish I could hug her, I'm so happy. I'm not even mad her and Miroku showed up anymore. As we walk out I make eye contact with Inuyasha from across the room and we just smile like we have a secret.

But it's really obvious it's not a secret at all…except to Shippou, probably.

"Congratulations on your progress, Kagome-sama!" Miroku tells me urgently, shaking my hand as soon as we come out.

"U-um…thanks?"

"Why are you congratulating her if she lost the game?" Shippou shakes his head and Inuyasha growls at him, while Sango and Miroku just clutch at themselves with silent laughter.

"I think Kagome won, actually," Sango adds, making sure to flash me a look. A giggle escapes me while Inuyasha glares at me incredulously, desperate to know what we talked about alone, and I try to suppress it.

"None of you make any sense," Shippou sighs out, like he's the only mature one, walking away from us and going off into another different room, I'm assuming where he slept probably. The three of us stay silent until he's gone, just looking at each other, before Inuyasha explodes.

"How _could _you!" He screams at Miroku and Sango, who just eye him blankly. "Waiting outside like that?!"

"What're you getting worked up over? Shouldn't we be celebrating the passionate union of two fated lovers?"

_Wow, Miroku…that's a little extra, _I think, giggling and covering my mouth. Inuyasha just stares, annoyed…but mostly dumbfounded.

"Stop that," Sango laughs at Miroku, lightly smacking the back of his head.

Inuyasha glances at me while they start playfully bickering. "It's like I'm not supposed to be alone with you or anything, ever," He mutters under his breath.

"Aw, come on," I touch his arm to try and reassure him, and notice yet again he's shirtless, and we turn away, blushing shyly…like freaking schoolchildren. It's hard to be taking each other seriously with our friends joking about like this.

"We must have a toast," Miroku goes on, insisting he made this as awkwardly entertaining as possible. He rushes over to the kitchen to open the fridge…which is disconcertingly empty other than having some milk, eggs, bottled water, and…

"You have _vodka_ here?" Sango has joined him as they both pick up the bottle simultaneously. They hold it like it's a precious infant.

"That was Sesshoumaru's, before he moved out," Inuyasha tells them, looking especially unhappy. "That bastard threatened to kill me if I touched it and what does he do? Fuckin' leaves it here. _Taunting_ me."

"How lucky, to have an older brother," Miroku says, shutting his eyes and tightening a fist, looking like he wants to cry. "My fake ID only works…a third of the time."

"It's 'cause you're so baby-faced," Sango tells him adoringly, and he just laughs weakly in a giving-up kind of way.

I keep forgetting they're all older than me. Well, Inuyasha doesn't count with being a half-demon and all. Here in my world…they're all like, the equivalent of seniors…I think Sango would be a junior…and I'm a freshman. Technically. It makes me wonder why they're even in my homeroom class. Huh…I guess with the time-travelling and what not they were all held back. Literally _and_ figuratively. Haha. I mean, it's not funny, but still.

"I don't want any of his nasty shit anyway," Inuyasha declares haughtily, turning his face away. "But you two had better not touch it…he'll probably come over after somehow finding out and kill you."

They're already opening the bottle. "Oops," Sango chuckles. "Hey, this isn't nasty, this is some expensive stuff. Sessh has got good taste."

"He would have wanted you to have it anyway," Miroku tries to reason with him, grinning. Inuyasha keeps glaring at them, as if the meanness alone would will them out of the apartment, but they're intent on keeping us company. "He'd be sooo proud of you!"

"Damn, dude, cut it out already!" Inuyasha shouts back at him, his cheeks getting pink again. He and I are leaning across the island of the counter while they're looking for shot glasses in the cabinets, which are also really devoid of any glassware or plates.

Then, someone knocks on the door, for the second time that day, and I jump, classically conditioned to feel traumatized all over again at that sound!

"I told you!" Inuyasha growls at them. Miroku and Sango let go of the bottle, looking at each other with alarm and then closing it, accidentally stuffing it into the freezer instead of the fridge in their haste.

He opens the door. It really is Sesshoumaru.

"What the hell is this?" He mutters, shoving his way in past Inuyasha, looking absolutely disgusted at his younger brother, and his friends, and…he ignores me. Normally I'd get annoyed over something so petty like that, but I breathe a sigh of relief. "Put a shirt on."

"Y-you put a shirt on," Inuyasha retorts, getting pissed off even more at his brother, and then himself for such an irrelevant comeback.

Sesshoumaru just smirks, and looks at Sango and Miroku like he knows we were about to have some of his nice alcohol, like he knows what Inuyasha and I had spent our afternoon doing. They smile innocently, and he doesn't seem to have any of it, but I guess he doesn't hold enough attachment anymore to kill them like Inuyasha had exaggerated about.

"Hmph. Even though I'm by no means under any obligation…I came by to let you know…that Naraku has been found."

We all go completely silent, the hush in the room deafening, the news stealing everyone's breath.


	17. Chapter 17

_(man, i'm just on a roll lately with all these chapters! haha. xx)_

* * *

"He's…been found?" I squeak out, hating how the cheerful mood had been utterly shattered. Inuyasha looks at me and I can tell by his expression he's thinking the exact same thing. I wonder if he wishes now that he hadn't answered the door in the first place, or if he's even relieved at all to know our archenemy's whereabouts.

Sesshoumaru doesn't nod in response. "The problem…is that he's beyond the well now."

We exchange eye contact hesitantly, the discomfort obvious as the fun has been interrupted. Sesshoumaru just sort of glances at us like he doesn't know why he bothered, that faint air of being disgusted still about him, then he shrugs coolly. "It will be _interesting _to see who gets to him first." And then he walks out.

Always a competition with that guy…

_Could that have not waited? _I think right away, then bury my face in my hands, regretting that that even came to my mind.

How revoltingly selfish of me!

Of _course_ it couldn't have waited. Our entire goal was to get back to the world we came from…I'm the only one who is originally from here…I'm so full of shame about resenting this!

Inuyasha notices my distress. But he's not the type to be sentimental in a room full of people, even though his refusal to comfort me obviously distresses him as well.

"Kikyou is the only one who can defeat him," Sango gushes, looking really emotional now…ah, she's thinking of Kohaku.

"Sango," Miroku murmurs her name and puts his hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll figure it all out. We'll get back to our world, without fail."

"…Maybe Kagura knows something more," Inuyasha offers, avoiding the mention of Kikyou. Huh…how interesting, now that he's realized his true feelings for me after this whole time, he didn't want to acknowledge her involvement. _Love love love. I'm in love with you, Kagome. I'm in love-_

I have to go lay down. I'm lightheaded. I get up and go back to his bedroom without saying anything more, and they're all looking after me with great unhappiness. I…I want him to come after me. I want to be alone, but I also don't. I know that doesn't make any sense, but still.

I flop down onto the mattress, suddenly now exhausted after the absurd lack of sleep from the past few nights, and the ravishing my body has endured. Inuyasha has chased me into the room, and shuts the door behind him that I'd left open as my sign to invite him in.

"Kagome," He sits down on the bed next to me…I look up at him through my fringe in my eyes, so tired, all my energy sapped. He lies down beside me with a sigh.

"I wish Naraku and the jewel would just disappear," I whisper, sounding like a child, hiding my face in his chest. He's so warm and comfortable. I wish we could just lie here forever and never get interrupted by anyone, or anything, ever again.

"That sounds about right," He replies softly, petting my hair.

If he was going to avoid Kikyou now, due to us strengthening our relationship so much…our circumstances would get even more difficult. I could tell the last time we encountered her, she was aware of us growing close like that. She knew. Of course she would know, she's a woman too. I worry…she won't help us anymore, because of that. Because he's mine now. Because I'm his.

And she isn't.

Which jewel did our fate depend upon? The one in her hands, or Naraku's?

The last thing I recall is inhaling Inuyasha's comforting scent with a pensive sigh, and falling into a deep sleep.

* * *

When I open my eyes again, Inuyasha's gone. The sun is just beginning to set outside, casting a pretty peachy glow in the room through the half-drawn blinds.

"Will Kagome-chan be okay?" I hear Sango's voice from the other end of the apartment.

"Yeah…she's just exhausted," He responds.

I wonder if they're smirking about it still, like before, since I can't see any of them.

"You let her rest, now," I hear Miroku tease him gently.

"Hah. Of all people to tell me that? Get outta here."

The door closes after some calm friendly laughs and "see ya'"s. I hear him coming back into the bedroom, and he catches me just stirring now with my eyes drowsily open.

"How long has it been?" I murmur sleepily. He smiles a little bit at me and I wonder if I look cute to him in the state I'm in, curled up in his bed in his wrinkled up shirt that's a bit too big, falling off my shoulder as I lean up a bit more. I'm still aching. I feel like a mess.

"Like, two hours," He guesses, looking up to think, then coming over to sit next to me once again. "Do you…want me to take you home so you can rest more…?"

"Huh? Noo, not yet," I huddle into the sheets more. I want back that time our friends stole from us. It's unfortunate we no longer are basking in the afterglow of making love, we're just so exhausted now. Or at least, I am – he's half-demon, he probably still had plenty of energy.

"Heh. Ok," He hops under the blanket with me.

I almost feel apprehensive he'll try to mess around with me again now that we're by ourselves but he doesn't, he just contentedly takes me into his arms and I nestle further into the embrace.

"What did you guys do? While I slept."

"Talked," He replies, voice muffled from speaking into my hair.

"Ah…no one drank any of Sesshoumaru's fancy vodka?"

He laughs again. "They were too chicken to, after he showed up like that. But I was actually just kidding when I said he'd arrive if they touched it."

How funny. It seemed like they really believed him after such a coincidence.

We're silent for a while, and I can't get over how excited I am to have him all to myself like this…even though I'm still so tired, my heart feels giddy.

"Hey…there was something I was wondering about."

I tilt my head up to look at him. "Hmm?"

"If…if Kikyou still has her spiritual powers…I feel like you should still, too?"

"Ah…" I hadn't considered that. "You mean 'cause I'm, like, her reincarnation and all?"

"Yeah," He replies unsurely. "Like. It was just an idea. But if there's some connection, you'll probably still be able to fight…"

_Fight? _I hadn't pictured myself fighting in so long. Even that one time I tried shooting an arrow with the archery club after school wasn't me thinking about how I'd utilize that skill in battle. Inuyasha must be pretty serious about believing in my powers if he thinks I can possibly get us out of this, on the same level that Kikyou can.

"Maybe that's why it still feels so weird to walk past the Bone-eater's well," I surmise. "…like…maybe something will happen, if we try the _right _thing. Whatever that is."

"Maybe," He sounds interested, but I'm glad he's not being hyper like usual, and jumping up to go test it out right away. Perhaps he's being so kind…because he knows I'll have to end up fighting whether I want to or not…and he's trying to ease the blow of accepting that.

But honestly? I was more than willing to take that on. For all of them to get sent into my world and nowhere else…I feel responsible, somehow. I _want _to help. It doesn't feel like a burden. It's just somehow, starting to feel like my fault, a little. But thank God Inuyasha was here to make it all okay.

* * *

When he takes me home a bit later he leaps up to my window, and I'm relieved I don't need to face my family immediately, after being out of the house for so long. I'm sure they're worried about me, I've been gone a lot, lately…but I was trying to help others, and take care of myself – I wasn't out doing _bad_ things.

Or was I? I'm blushing, remembering myself on my back, on his bed, when I look at my own as we crawl through the windowpane. If him and I were doing those kinds of things now, I might as well just permanently wear scarves from now on. I'm already super self-conscious about the bruises on my neck. Ahh…Sango and Miroku had seen them too, and they were nice enough to not point it out or anything!

_Yikes!_ I guess with friends, it's ok. But my mama…? Well, she could definitely wait…or…_she could just…never have to know at all…!_

Inuyasha lingers around for a bit after putting me down, and my head is spinning at how much closer we'd become in just the past 48 hours. Funny how that incident with Kikyou…managed to strengthen our bond, instead of break it.

Funny how in this day and age, things worked out so better. I'm almost grateful I lost my memory in the first place, for it seemingly taught him to treasure me more than ever.

Hmph. Take that, Naraku. You intended to rip us all apart, but if anything it seems we're all much closer than before.

Inuyasha's looking at me, blushing sort of too, with that look on his face I love – his classic slightly-scowling expression. I'm so happy it didn't get awkward after we went all the way, like I'd secretly feared.

"…I don't wanna go back." He mutters this like a little kid not getting his way. I just grin. What was with trying to be all cute and shy now, when he had sounded so confident in bed?!

"Ah...when we get back to the _sengoku jidai…_that won't be an issue anymore."

He gives me a big smile, obviously liking the sound of that.

Then, out of the blue, the ground gives a slight rumble – it's not hard enough to be an earthquake, but…it's significant. I hear my brother downstairs freaking out. Inuyasha makes a growling sound and looks out my window, holding his ears back, bristling.

"Please don't tell me that's what I think it is," I groan nervously, not ready to come back to reality yet again. Or at least…this warped version of our reality, if you can even call it that…

"Probably," He snarls under his breath, looking around outside. I peer over him and we both gasp as a big beam of light shoots out from the closed-off well. Bigger than ever before.

I'm prepared to muster up the last of my comprehensible energy and run out with Inuyasha to go check it out, but suddenly everything starts to feel hazy, and I get sick. I fall to my knees; oddly enough, I'm too tired now to even be scared as to why I'm collapsing in the first place.

"Kagome!" He shouts, whirling around to see my legs buckle, and I wonder, _why are you yelling?_ _My family's gonna flip. _My name echoes in my own head, his voice reverberating hard in my temples, my peripheral vision disappearing. I feel him grab onto me and hold me up in his arms, before I hit the floor entirely. He shakes me lightly and it seems to bring on the dizziness even more somehow. "Get a hold of yourself! H-hey! _KAGOME!_"

Ah…no such thing. My vision goes smoky-grey, and then entirely black as I pass out.


	18. Chapter 18

When I come to, I immediately recognize that my body is still unconscious – my mind feels like it's being astral projected. It feels like I'm falling through the night sky outside my house. The sensation of being woken up by having a dream where you trip and fall makes a small scream escape my mouth, and then I feel as though I thud to the ground kind of hard…

I rub my tailbone that I'd hit when I fell. Oww…I feel a new and different weight across my shoulder and I reach for the strap connecting me to it; ah, a quiver! Almost instinctively I snatch an arrow out of it and hook it to the bow, trying to ignore the pain I'm in; an ominous presence is suddenly starting to gather somewhere in the distance before me.

I have to look for the light, and that comes naturally. _Aim carefully._ The light, though…isn't visible in the darkness. The pitch black glow of the corrupted _shikon no tama _is obvious among all the miasma…which stuns me to recognize, and I wonder why I'm able to breathe in spite of it?

Out of nowhere, an intense throbbing feeling overcomes me from my abdomen, much worse than the pain I was already in. I drop my bow and arrow, clutching onto my stomach hard, that sickness from before I passed out returning. I feel like I'm going to throw up. I'm shaking uncontrollably.

Then…it hits me. As I stare at the center of my body in my curled up position…I see the light of the pure jewel. Ah. What a familiar scene. It's in the same place inside where it got ripped out of me, the night I accidentally crossed over from my world into Inuyasha's…

_Inuyasha!_

My consciousness flickers. At the thought of his name, and desperately wanting his help, I know he's trying to reawaken me in my bedroom, and it becomes clear I'd been dreaming. The images I've seen in my head remain. Somehow, in my heart…I know the light inside of me isn't the real jewel…_it's almost as if…it's really…_

"Kagome!"

I cough really hard, forcibly being brought back to the real world outside of my illusion. _What…what just happened to me?_

"Holy shit, you scared me, are you okay?!"

Inuyasha pushes my hair out of my eyes, and at the touch of his hand on my forehead I can feel my hairline is dampened with sweat. I keep coughing as that nauseated feeling passes, and he's looking at me so desperately that the first emotion I feel welling up inside me as I come to, is guilt.

"Go…see what that light was," I gasp out, feeling like my body is tattered and shredded.

"No, not until you're alright," He picks me up off the floor and lays me down on my mattress, stroking me nervously. What happened to our lovely, romantic afternoon, and all that fun? I know it's just nighttime outside; but inside my heart, after that nightmarish vision…it feels so dark. "Christ, I put you through that whole ordeal after you get no sleep, and now you pass out on me? I feel so fucking bad. Jesus, Kagome, you have no idea."

I laugh weakly. "Naraku…still has a grip on me, apparently," I tell him, not even needing to guess that the light shooting out of the well and my passing out were absolutely, undoubtedly connected.

"Huh? What do you mean?!"

"I saw…the light of the jewel inside me, like how it was inside my body when I crossed through the well…except, it wasn't actually the jewel…it was something else…I just don't know what exactly?" I shut my eyes tight, uncomfortably aware of my shirt sticking to my sweat-soaked back, feeling it also pool in the center of my bra. "It's…on the tip of my tongue…"

"Don't overdo it," He begs me furiously, rubbing my shoulder. "Please."

I hear my door creak open and through hooded eyes I see it's my mama.

"Oh, dear, what happened to her?!" She sputters, rushing over to me to put her hand on my forehead. "Good lord, Kagome, do I need to take you to the hospital? Inuyasha…what happened?"

He just can't tell her the whole thing…it wouldn't make any sense. "I brought her home and she…just started feeling sick," He half-lies. "She passed out…but I think she's mostly ok now?"

My mama gives me a really sad frown. I'm grateful she's not the type of parent to start freaking out at him; even without knowing the whole situation, she gives him the benefit of the doubt.

"Mama…I'm ok, really, I think I'm just _super _tired," I tell her, lifting my head up a little to reassure her. Inuyasha winces at me, like he really doesn't want me even exerting so much effort as that. "Maybe it's just anemia?"

"Okay…" She doesn't seem to believe me, but sighs, knowing how stubborn I am. "I'll go run to the convenience store for some medicine for you. Inuyasha, you keep an eye on her for me, ok? You take care of her if she needs anything."

She leaves my room in a hurry, giving me one last concerned look before disappearing. I sigh sadly, upset she had to see me like this. I think she knew I was involved in some dangerous stuff on the other side of the well, but she had never questioned Inuyasha's continuous presence in _this_ world…and I forgot to mention how all our other friends are here, too. She doesn't know about any demonic curse potentially getting placed on her precious baby. She didn't _need _to know, as far as I'm concerned.

"Please, Inuyasha," I reach for his shirt sleeve and grip it tightly. "Go to the well. See what happened…I'll wait here."

He frowns at me. "…I have a bad feeling about that," He mutters.

"Just go," I tell him, releasing my hold on him so he knows I mean it. He has to go see what's occurred, if anything meaningful at all. If it had forced me to see such a vision as I did…it could be part of the puzzle to getting back to his time.

He gives me a really distressed look…and still is staring at me over his shoulder as he leaps out of my still-open window. I clutch at my blankets, still deeply afflicted by those things I'd seen. It feels like a simple riddle I should know the answer to. Then…the sick feeling comes back, and the enormous presence of something evil grabs my weary attention.

Almost as if too opportune…long aubergine tendrils come creeping through the window, approaching me. That all too familiar evil cackling sounds distant and quickly comes closer, almost indistinguishable with thunder, and if I were any less conscious, I'd really think it was just a storm.

_Naraku!_

I'm frozen on my bed. Of course he'd show his nasty self when Inuyasha isn't by my side. I can't move – I'm suddenly possessed. I watch the miasma come close to me…my heart races so hard I feel like I'm about to faint again, then my eyes widen in terror as a huge burst of light blasts the smoke away – it seems to incinerate it, and I hear the villain make some sort of gasping snarl in pain. "_Damn it!"_

_Was this…was this the light that was inside me, that injured him? Why is that…so nostalgic? It's…_

_So warm._

I can't scream for help, except for in my mind. _Inuyasha! INUYASHA!_

The smoke fills up my room…I start coughing again, hoping I don't pass out once more. The light coming from my figure keeps glowing very strongly, and I can barely keep my eyes open for how blinding it is. I hear the swoosh of someone coming through the window again and it's Inuyasha, oh, thank God, he's…

Oh, wow, he's glowing too.

We're staring at each other, confused and in awe. With the light coming off his body combined in the room with mine, Naraku's miasma disintegrates like a horrifying experiment in chem class gone wrong. That disgustingly familiar voice swears something awful before it sounds like it is warped away beyond return.

The intense light fades away rather quickly, as though it was an immediate reaction to that evil presence. Inuyasha and I look at each other in disbelief…he stares at his open hands, amazed no weapon, no claws were needed to fight the bastard.

Suddenly, I understand.

"This is Kikyou's light," I exhale. "…I knew it…"

"Kikyou's?" He repeats, looking shocked.

"Do you remember, Inuyasha…? Our last fight, in our former world. Naraku…used the completed _shikon no tama_ to banish us. But Kikyou was there, fighting too. So…"

His face alights with astonishment, the realization triggered. "That wish they made at the same time, on the jewel…so, this is..."

"It makes me think…we were supposed to lose our lives that day," I explain further, as it dawns on us. "…but she intervened…she saved us…that light that protected me, and you just now…it's hers…"

"So…that's why she'll die if she lets go of that jewel," He goes on, his voice all choked up. "…It'll sustain our lives, due to her wish. But not hers. Oh, fuck. Oh God."

I feel tears welling up at the corners of my eyes. There was no word for how much sorrow suffocated my room then and there. We couldn't save her back then, or now. Inuyasha comes over to me, sitting down on the bed carefully, and I almost feel how numb he is on the inside just from his presence besides mine. He looks at me with such a hurt face, and I don't have the energy to reach out for him…a light jolt runs through me as he snatches me into his arms, letting out a shaky sigh, and then breathing normally as I hold onto him in return. I close my eyes, grateful he refuses to grieve alone. It's not just him who owes her his life anymore...it's all of us.

* * *

When it's light outside again, there's a soft knock at my door.

"Kagome-chan," It's my mama. "It's noon!"

I open my eyes with difficulty, and then shoot awake as I see Inuyasha's passed out figure on my bed next to me. His face is peaceful…his ears twitch at her voice, but he keeps sleeping. My face turns bright red. I don't remember when or how I fell asleep last night…so I had no idea he'd stayed!

Oh my God, and my mama definitely knew, too. She was…okay with it?! So, shouldn't I be as well?!

I don't know what to do first. Do I respond to her? Do I wake him up? Do I just cry myself back to sleep from embarrassment?!

We'd…had a really rough night last night. As I lean up onto my elbow on my side, his ears swivel around at the sound and he slowly opens his amber eyes, drowsily glancing up at me. I'm blushing so hard, it's ridiculous. He looked _so_ adorable, sleeping so quietly like that…I rarely got to see him sleep in the first place, it was such a precious sight—

He reaches up a hand to place it softly on my cheek, and I wonder how hot my face is to the touch. "…Yo," He mutters. "Are you feeling better?"

"Y-yeah," I stammer, secretly feeling like such a grown woman with this handsome man in my bed.

He smirks, then his smile suddenly fades away. "Let's…take things easy for a while."

I worry those words will send me into cardiac arrest. "Wh-what…do you mean?"

"I don't think the four of us are ready to fight, yet," He clarifies, and I breathe out a shaky sigh of relief. Jeez, I thought he'd been referencing _us, _so I'm beyond glad that's not the case. He gives me this little amused look, like he knew I'd overextend his meaning.

"Okay," I whisper. "You…probably want to figure out how you'll get your sword back, too, I'm sure."

"Yeah," He replies, looking away. He's overtaken by a yawn and he buries his face into my chest, sleepily pulling me into his arms once more and I feel my body light on fire all the way from my forehead to the tips of my toes.

"Ka-_go_-me!" My mama yells at me again from downstairs, sweetly impatient. "I made lunch for you and Inuyasha-kun! Now, come on!"

I blush even more, and he pulls his face away to look at me, cheeks pink too.

"Inuyasha-_kun_…?" He repeats, looking a little annoyed and confused. I just giggle.

"Well…you heard her, _Inuyasha-kun,_" I tease him while sitting up, and he tries to frown, but fails. "Let's just…take it easy like you said. We can talk to Miroku and Sango about what's happened soon enough. It seems we're protected for now."

"...Maaan, I don't wanna get up," He groans after a long silence, leaning up to pull me back down with him. I let out a laugh, playfully trying to get away as he tightens his grip on me even further. "…Let's just stay in bed all day." His hands start to wander then, going from my shoulders down to my waist. He breathes in the scent of my hair deeply, eliminating any sort of space between our bodies.

"W-we can't do that if we're being waited on," I stammer, trying to force away the feeling of being so turned on at his touch. "B-be-besides, Inuyasha! I'm still hurting from before!"

He just gives me a soft glare, his face clearly saying _I would make you feel better again, _even if I wasn't _just_ making excuses!

But he won't listen. He lightly caresses my chest with his palms, bringing those hands back down again to go under my skirt, and I'm embarrassed at realizing we slept in our clothes from the previous day. He rubs the outside of my panties with curled knuckles and I inhale sharply at the sensation.

With almost no effort, he gets me really close, and I'm even more humiliated at how easily my body responds to him, even in my half-awake state. I try so hard to disguise my heavy breathing, and he gives me a smirk as he steals his hands away from me, getting up and rolling out of bed. I feel the air leave my lungs as the blood pools between my hips, unable to return to the rest of my body for how he had gotten me so close to release like that.

"You…!" I start to want to yell at him, but I can't. I grab my sheets in my fist, frustrated beyond belief. "How could you!" I hiss at him under my breath.

"Keh! Now YOU know how it feels," He sticks his tongue out at me, fixing the collar of his shirt and smoothing out some of the wrinkles.

_What is he, a vengeful little kid?!_ I'm outraged! I harrumph loudly, hopping out of my bed and leaving him behind in my room, and he chases me down the stairs, laughing, and we grow silent, but exchange haughty looks over lunch in the kitchen.

* * *

"Kagome," My mama smiles as we eat, softly patting my head. "I called in sick to school for you, so don't worry about it."

I nearly choke on my food. "School?!"

"Yeah, it's Monday, didn't you know?" Inuyasha asks me incredulously.

"How come_ you_ know the day of the week, and _I_ don't?!" I cry, slapping my hands onto my cheeks.

"Hah, woah, don't ask me," He shrugs, lifting his hands up like he wants nothing to do with it. I literally feel like I want to start sobbing, because that's so backwards, but my mama sits down beside me and rubs my shoulder forcefully in an attempt to comfort me.

"It's ok! You were _really _ill last night, sweetie. You absolutely have to rest up."

"NOOO!" I whine. "I'm pretty sure I had an exam of some sort today…!" _I'm so screwed! _But mama doesn't seem too bothered, I think she's just glad I'm physically okay, and Inuyasha just cackles…and I can't stay mad as I just grin helplessly, so happy they're here for me.

I guess I can just make it up later…! We have more important things to worry about, anyway.


	19. Chapter 19

_(hey guys! sorry for all these long, annoying chapters. well, okay, i'm just sorta worried they're annoying - maybe they aren't - but i truly felt like some more plot exposition was important, since i didn't wanna seem like i was just BS'ing some dumb plot that didn't make sense! i love Inuyasha as a series too much to not do my fanfiction of it justice! anyways...i think i'm through with all that explaining, and finally the rest of the action can set in. i tried to make it as fun as possible to read. thanks so much for everyone who's been sticking with me and supporting me! xx)_

* * *

The following day, I come to school on time, and still wonder where Eri, Ayumi, and Yuka all are. I suppose with midterms approaching…it made sense they're busy with their studies, while I deal with all the crazy stuff happening in my life. Man…I almost wish I could be studying instead, sometimes. Hmph, I'd probably have to ask Inuyasha for _permission _to do that, for all I knew!

Okay, he's not _that _bad. But…it's clear where my loyalties lie. So shouldn't I be more upset with myself and not him? Hmm.

At lunchtime, I expect Sango to come find me and steal me away as per usual, but to my shock, it's Miroku!

"Kagome-sama," He corners me at my locker. I laugh at his refusal to acknowledge personal space. "Sango and I are playing hooky. As well as Inuyasha."

"Man, my grades are really suffering because of all of you," I complain, shutting my locker door with a sigh, already resigning myself.

He gives me a sympathetic grin. "Sorry! It can't be helped." Then he grabs my wrist Inuyasha-style and drags me away out of the building. Jeez, it really looked like I was a bit _too _popular with all the guys…even though he's also one of my best friends and I know it's totally platonic. It's just…all these strangers giving us odd stares don't know that like I do!

Miroku has a bicycle parked outside, locked on one of the racks, and I hop onto the back of it as he pedals down into the city, and we're going somewhere I haven't recognized before.

"Uh…so where exactly are you taking me?" I ask, nudging his shoulder.

He gives me a shockingly depressed look. "So you still don't trust me? Ah, I knew it… just kidding. We're going to Sango's place this time."

"Sango-chan!" I say her name out loud, excited now to see where she was staying. Ah, and we'd get to see Kohaku-kun too! And Kirara, hopefully!

We go past the city to the suburbs just barely outside it, and Miroku rides us over to a cute little ranch-style house that seems just a bit more quaint than all the others in this neighborhood. As he brings the bicycle to a halt, the front door opens, and Inuyasha comes leaping down off the banister from the front porch, practically landing right in front of me. I guess he'd scented us as we arrived.

"Yo," He greets me, super informal.

"Yo!" I tell him back, and he grins, looking like he didn't expect that.

"Let's commence our official meeting," Miroku jokes, giving us a teasing eye. I hadn't seen Inuyasha since yesterday after he left my house, after lunch, after…he spent the night…_ah!_ I'd almost forgotten. It felt like we were practically attached at the hip now, and I follow them into the house, blushing like a little girl.

Then I remember. I was supposed to be mad at him!

"I'm getting you back for yesterday morning," I mutter quietly to him. His ears flicker up and he gives me a really mischievous look over his shoulder.

"How about later, babe," He snickers, unable to say it with a straight face, and I turn red from head to toe at the pet-name along with my hatred of how he was clearly enjoying torturing me so much. I have to control my newfound feelings of sexual frustration and I wrinkle my nose at him, pretending I don't care as I shove past him to walk in front. _Hmph! Why should I care, if he was gonna act that way anyway! How unlike him!_

Miroku gives us a weird look for all our whispering and dramatics, then rolls his eyes in a kind of happy carefree way while opening the door, and Sango welcomes him excitedly. She sees me and grabs me for a big hug, and I laugh, hugging her back, forgetting about Inuyasha and his…stupid…_game_, for lack of a better word.

"Aw, you hug Kagome before you hug me, Sango?" Miroku pretends to complain, but she just ignores him, and Inuyasha laughs as he makes a sad face.

This little house she's been staying in is so cute. There are lots of little trinkets everywhere; knick-knacks and picture frames coated in gold and jewels and shells, and there was a funny contrast of tons of different kinds of swords hung up on the pink wallpaper, clashing with all the cutesy decorations. It…suited her well, I realize, wanting to laugh.

I then see Kohaku, stretched out on the carpet reading comics. He glances up at all of us.

"Ohh? Everyone's here!" He tells Sango in surprise.

"Yeah!" She tells him back excitedly. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Then, to my utter delight, Kirara comes waltzing into the room to greet us, too. I grab her off the floor and bury my face into her fur, softer than anything. "I missed you!"

She just squeaks happily in reply. I guess that was a "me too!"

I sit down on the couch with Kirara in my arms, and Sango flops down next to me. "Whew! I really needed a break from school, so this is nice," She sighs out, flashing me a big smile.

I grin back, but I can't help but think…none of them took it as seriously as me, so how could it be tiring them out?! I want to shake her, but in, like, an affectionate way. I suppose that's just how it is, with them coming to my world…

"Oy. What're you reading?" Inuyasha kneels down on the floor in front of Kohaku.

"Oh, it's n-nothing," Kohaku grins and pulls his comics away from Inuyasha, whose curiosity has been piqued from his refusal. "Just…some _shounen _manga…"

"Let me see!" He insists, grabbing the book, and now they're fighting over it. Sango sighs and I frown at him. Couldn't he just leave the shy kid alone?!

"Inuyasha, have you forgotten there's something you and I need to talk to Miroku and Sango about?" I scold him. He's in the middle of giving poor Kohaku a half-nelson, and he glances up at me innocently.

_Gah! I hate when he gives me that look, it's SO hard to stay upset when he does that._

"Oh, right," He lets go of Kohaku and stands up, flopping over onto one of the armchairs, taking up the whole thing. Kohaku tries fixing his hair and he doesn't seem interested in his manga anymore, as he's all flustered now. "Well…we sorta figured out exactly what happened."

"Huh? How so?" Sango asks.

"Like…with the jewel and all…"

"The fake one, you mean?" Miroku interjects.

"…Yeah," Inuyasha goes on, looking directly at me as I stare at my hands in my lap. "Naraku…showed his ugly self the other night when I was taking Kagome home. He tried to attack her…but before his miasma could touch either of us, this really bright light…"

"…Purified him," I continue for him as he searches for the words. "It was Kikyou's light. The same light that Kohaku was protected by, and was able to damage Naraku, is inside all of us now, it seems."

"That…makes sense, if Naraku's wish on the actual jewel was to banish us to this time forever," Sango murmurs. "It seems…too simplistic, almost…"

"Kikyou made a wish on the jewel too, though," I go on. "That's why it's split in half. Her half is sort of like…a manifestation of that wish, and it holds the light that is our lives…she's the reason none of us are dead right now."

Miroku and Sango have really difficult to read expressions on their faces. I knew it'd be hard for them to digest as well. _It still is, even for me._

"Naraku cursed the half that Kikyou holds, though," Inuyasha picks up where I left off. "If she lets go of it, she dies."

"But…didn't Kikyou-sama already pass?" Kohaku finally joins in, and we all look at him with surprise. "I-I mean…not to be rude…but that sounds like she traded our lives for hers, in the wish she made…in order for us to keep living…"

I cover my hands with my mouth. So that was the connection. Now I finally understand why no one else could see her, except us. Why she looked just like a ghost.

Because she _is_ one.

Inuyasha is the only one who's looking away, with a slight grimace on his face. I see now, that he…he knew that all along, and never said anything about it…no wonder he was holding on so desperately to me, after realizing the truth. This wasn't the same as when her physical body was reborn from earth and bones. This was purely her spirit, nothing else. He knew there was no chance to be had, with someone who's been reduced to that. He'd accepted the end of that a long time ago.

Now I want to cry all over again. But why, if he's mine? Is this just me…feeling _sorry_ for her? But…pity, is the _last _thing Kikyou would ever want from somebody.

"We have to somehow…combine those two jewels," Miroku guesses, clutching his chin as he thinks. "But that makes me wonder why the one Kikyou-sama holds has been referred to as a 'fake' until now?"

"Well, if her and Midoriko's souls were connected in order to defeat Naraku, it makes sense she could…sort of just produce one from herself like that miko did…right? It's fake because it's not the actual _shikon no tama…_but it's still something because it came out of it," I add.

"This is all so complicated," Sango says really sadly. "Like…I want to return to our home, but I don't want it to be at Kikyou-sama's expense…"

We all stare at the floor in silence.

"…We have to get our weapons back," Inuyasha is the first to speak after a while. "Kikyou is weakened by needing to live off of her _shinidamachuu, _so she couldn't use her spiritual powers in the first place, even if she's the only one equipped to fight."

"You're right," Sango agrees. "But then…won't Miroku…?"

"I've already accepted it," He interrupts her and clutches his hand tightly into a fist, the one where his _kazaana _was. She stares at him helplessly, looking like she wants to cry too, and I think of how odd it is we all probably want to just start sobbing or throwing fists for different reasons…yet all, ultimately, for the same goal.

"…Inuyasha thinks I still have my spiritual powers, too," I say quietly, and everyone glances at me with looks full of feeling. "I mean…if I'm Kikyou's reincarnation, wouldn't that make sense? Heh. I…haven't tried to see if I do, still, though…"

_I almost don't want to, _but I keep that part to myself.

"If the light is protecting us, then Kagome, you can find out when Naraku tries to attack again. There's no doubt he will if he's aware now we have our memory back, and are trying to return." Inuyasha tells me this and I think he's trying to reassure me I don't have to fight…just yet.

"I suppose time will tell," Miroku sighs out, shrugging. We're all silent for a while, lost in our own thoughts, while Inuyasha is still staring at me from across the room. We still haven't figured out why exactly I fainted at Naraku's reappearance, but I think it's obvious I'm being targeted…which is probably what convinces him I still have my powers, if I'm apparently a force to be reckoned with.

"Well, let's not make missing school a _total _bummer," Miroku goes on. "I'll…I'll uh…I'll order us a pizza! My treat?"

"And I can make drinks," Sango offers, standing up and walking towards the kitchen, so clearly ready to escape the tense mood. Miroku follows her, and the way he looks at her seems like he wants to bend her over the counter once they get there and I cringe laughingly at the thought. Inuyasha hops over onto the sofa where I've been left by myself, and sits close beside me.

"Uh…I'm gonna go upstairs," Kohaku murmurs, excusing himself and leaving the room. I feel a little bad that we made him feel awkward, but of course Inuyasha doesn't care. Kirara mewls and follows after the departing boy.

"Are you ok?" He asks softly, grabbing my face to turn towards him before I can even turn it myself. My cheeks flush and I want to say yes, but now him questioning me makes me question myself!

"Yeah," I stammer out, grinning a little at him, happy he's concerned.

"Were you able to get some more rest last night?" He goes on.

I wonder where this is all coming from? I mean…I know deep down he's a softie, but this much concern from someone as hard-assed as him seems too good to be true…!

"Mmhm," I reply, even quieter now. His face is so near mine, and he's still holding my chin softly in his fingers. Ah…it's like every time we're in such proximity, I remember all over again _that _afternoon in full detail, and it's so overwhelming.

I'm sure he thinks of it when we're positioned like this, too. _Geh…but don't boys think about that all the time, anyway…_

"…Do you…wanna…"

"Yes," I reply immediately, before even knowing the question. What else could he be insinuating, with such hesitancy? We start to get up.

"I hope you two don't think you're just gonna ditch us while we're _already_ ditching school together!" Miroku appears out of nowhere, looking annoyed.

"Yeah, after all the trouble we went through?" Sango gives us a disappointed look, sipping on some sort of mixed drink through a tall glass.

We both jump at their voices behind us. Inuyasha pushes me away from him and crosses his arms. "Keh! It was all Kagome's idea, tryna make a move on me like that. I'm innocent."

"Why, you…" I grab his ears and yank at them hard, and he yelps and tries to shove me off of him. "_Innocent?!_ You can go to _hell _for lying so badly, you know!"

He cracks up at me, pushing my hands off of him, fixing his hair and his ears. "Hahah, jeez, chill out!" His eyes are warm and bright, seemingly happy in spite of not getting his way.

"Good thing you're staying, then," Miroku adds…sounding like it's actually a threat.

Sango smirks. "Yeah! We just invited a bunch of people over as soon as school is out in a few hours. It's gonna be a party!"

"Again?!" I whine. "You guys are the worst students ever!" _Maaann, I'm NEVER going to get to retake that test! _

"It shouldn't matter, if we're gonna get back to our world soon enough anyway," Miroku winks at us while putting an arm around Sango, who's on her cell now, texting away. "Might as well go crazy here while we can!"

Inuyasha and I exchange a look that's half exhausted, but also half enthusiastic. I'm sure he'll be attempting to sneak me away into some spare bedroom later.

"Well, they're right, in a way," He offers, shrugging and kicking back comfortably. I just giggle, unable to stay mad at him anymore. They were right…things were going to get really hard, sooner rather than later. Making some more good memories wouldn't hurt.

In about half an hour, the pizza arrives and we enjoy ourselves over that. We play some cards and listen to the radio. And then, around four PM, the doorbell rings, signaling the beginning of his party, or whatever, and when Miroku goes to answer it—

_SO many people come flooding in—!_


	20. Chapter 20

_(thank you to everyone who has shared with me their lovely and nice thoughts regarding this story, it really encourages me to keep writing and makes me so incredibly happy :D xx)_

* * *

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I'm laughing at myself, because of how shy and nervous I was at Miroku's previous parties – before I'd gotten my memory back. Now, I'm downing my third large glass of something Sango called a screwdriver and my head is _so _fuzzy.

Inuyasha, who's been holding onto my arm obsessively this whole time since people got here, has been tipsy for much longer than I have. "Watch how much you drink," He slurs at me, glaring at any and all dudes who so much as glance at me for a millisecond.

"S-same back atchu," I tell him, slapping my hands over my mouth at how drunk I sound.

He gives me this evil smirk. "Heh! It's nice to see you let loose, for once."

"Oh, stop, I'm not _that _uptight!"

Sango and Miroku across the room, dancing to the music, somehow hear me and _both _look over with this incredulous look at my words…like they're blatantly shouting, _Yes you are, Kagome!_

I feel my lower lip tremble and wonder why I'm so emotionally volatile?! Is it the alcohol? Am I really uptight like they're insinuating?! Inuyasha laughs, but looks sorry, and pulls me away from their line of sight. Kouga, who I notice has also come to the party, is actually avoiding me…to my utter shock.

"Usually he's always trying to hit on me so hard," I whisper to Inuyasha, swigging the rest of my glass.

"Not with my scent all over you, he is," He mutters into my ear, and my face lights on fire at how sexy he makes it sound. "He _knows_ you're all mine now."

"Is that how it works?" I ask, baffled at how he literally sounds like…like a dog claiming his territory. _Huh. Figures._

"You wanna find out?" He retorts. He finishes the last of his beer bottle he'd been drinking and tosses it over his shoulder, into the kitchen. I gasp at how STUPID that was for him to do and he flinches in alarm as we both hear it shatter and crash – someone yells out, "Ouch! What the fuck! Who throws a fucking bottle in a room full of people?!" and he laughs hysterically while grabbing my arm and running at full speed with me upstairs, before he gets busted.

"You idiot!" I pound at his chest as he pulls me behind a door, of course, to the same bedroom we were in at that last party here. "You could have, like, _killed _someone!"

"Shut up," He suddenly interrupts me, hiding a laugh, and I do exactly that. How _dare _he talk to me like that?! I guess if he hadn't _told _me to shut up, he'd have just done it with his mouth anyway, and he proceeds to do so, kissing me so intently his body shoves me down onto the bed.

"I can't believe I'm drunk, getting it on with a dude, at _another_ dude's house," I say as he's bringing his lips down my neck and my collarbone, pushing my shirt aside to get at as much of my skin as possible.

"Aw, come on, you're my girl, aren't you? Why say it like that?" He complains, in between each peck.

"Who said I was disappointed?" I tell him back, bringing my legs up around his hips. Man, I _love _this confidence I suddenly seem to have out of nowhere. He gives me a wide grin and kisses me until I'm dizzier than I ever knew possible. I feel so lightheaded, it's amazing. It's like I'm totally numb, but I still somehow feel everything twice as much as normal.

He brings his hands up under my skirt, hiking it up roughly. He's being really rough with me in general…and I think I like it.

"…Is it ok?" He asks me as he pulls my undies off, looking a little annoyed and embarrassed to be asking for permission.

God, all my clothes feel so heavy and hot. "Yeah," I whisper back carelessly. He smiles somewhat, in that sort of boyish way, starting to take off my clothes and his, too…before I shove him off of me as I realize the door hasn't been locked.

"What the hell, Kagome!" He yells after me as he falls down onto the mattress, where I'd just been.

I stumble over to the door, locking it resolutely. "Do you want strangers just walking in on us?!" I shout, nearly falling as I come back over to where he is. How cute…tripping all over myself in nothing but a skirt and bra. He just makes a wrinkled up face like he didn't want to admit that was his mistake, and I stagger over my own feet as I approach the bed – _oops! _– falling opportunistically onto his lap.

He catches me with those strong arms, pulling me up so I'm straddling his hips and he's lying on his back, looking up at me amorously. I blush something awful, never having been in this position with him before. I can feel how hard he is through his boxers, and he grabs my hips and pushes me down onto him with a smile and a sigh.

My face is burning – it feels so excitingly scary for there to only be two super thin layers of fabric separating us like this. I suppose he likes it, obvious from how he very subtly grinds against me.

"Do you want to…try it this way?"

I feel my face redden even more. He strokes the sides of my body, pressing his fingertips hard into the softness of my rounded hips. I shake my head side to side, feeling my long waves tumble across my cheeks, hiding, if only a little, how nervous I secretly am at the thought.

He leans upward – I like how it seems so easy for him to do a sit up like that, I notice jealously – trying to not think of how out-of-shape I am as I admire the strength of his body, and how easily he handles me, like I'm just a feather. "Alright," He murmurs softly, kissing my jawline delicately, and I shiver.

Then, to my shock, he lifts me off of him and slams me almost face-down onto the bed. I don't think he meant to do it so crudely…but still. "Wh-what're you doing?!" I yelp, as he pulls me by my waist so my hips are held up high. Is this a joke?! I grab the blankets hard in my fists, unable to fight him off. "A-ah, hey, _Inuyasha!"_

"You didn't want to do it the other way," He tells me, like I'm stupid for complaining. Oh, God, he must be _so_ wasted to be treating me like a ragdoll like this. "Stop yelling! It's gonna make me look bad!"

"What are you, a dog?" I sneer, still unable to maneuver myself away from him, since he's holding on so hard. _Jeez…I don't know if I like this!_

He just laughs, knowing my insult is at least _half-_right.

Inuyasha snatches my skirt down, and undoes my bra, tossing both of them to the floor. I hide my face in the sheets, trembling all over, not liking how…exposed, I feel. My head still feels like it's floating all about the room, and I feel a little bit pathetic for hooking up with him at a party. _If he's drunk too, shouldn't he not be able to get it up?_ I think, bitterly.

I hear the rustling of fabric as he shoves off his boxers. I cringe hard as he grabs onto my waist with those big hands ensuring I can't get away, and then I start wanting to cry as he slides himself inside me, from behind. _What the hell! This hurts even more than before!_

To my surprise…the pain disappears quickly. I guess it's from how drunk I am. He pants out as he pushes himself in all the way, and I'm pressing my face hard into the bed to muffle any sounds that want to come out.

He starts to hammer away. I want to scream…but I can't, not with a house full of people downstairs.

He presses his chest down onto my back, and I feel my shoulders roll across his pecs. God, he goes in so ridiculously deep, my intoxicated mind can't focus on anything else. I feel so ashamed, I'm _glad_ he can't see my face, and how messed up he has me…

But he somehow reads my mind and reaches for my chin, tipping my head to the side so he can look right at me. He rests his thumb on my lower lip, and no longer being able to conceal myself or my voice leads to the moan I was trying to hide, escaping.

At the corners of my mouth, I feel like I'm just starting to salivate. I'm such a hypocrite…to have been freaking out about him doing this to me, only to love it so much…just look at the state he has me in…

He's smirking, pulling that hand away to reach around and grab a fistful of my hair at the roots. I cry out as he tugs at it gently.

"You like this kind of thing…_don't _you? It's written all over your face."

"Ah…anhh…y-you're…you're just drunk," I gasp, as he thrusts into me so forcefully my eyes roll into the back of my head.

"…Hah, or maybe this is what I'm _really_ like."

He pulls my hair hard, making my head tilt all the way back, still fucking me with this newfound barbaric intensity, showing no signs of stopping. My eyes fill up with tears at how good it feels. I can't admit to him how much I'm enjoying this, but I think it becomes apparent as the ecstasy sends me into the most fitful orgasm of my life.

He lets go of my hair in the midst of my throbbing, kissing the back of my neck as though to soothe me – isn't it too late for that? Coming so hard leaves me exhausted. I exhale with much effort, trying to catch my breath after suffocating myself with the sheets so no one could hear my pleasured screams.

I glance over my shoulder at him weakly, gasping for air and begging him with my gaze to stop. He smirks as he leans down on one elbow and uses his free arm to hug across my neck and chest tightly, closing off any space between our bodies.

"Heh…I'm not done with you yet, Kagome."

* * *

When it's over, I'm curled up facing away from Inuyasha, too fatigued to want to cuddle or even let him touch me anymore at all, after he'd ravished my body like that. And…my buzz still hasn't worn off, and I'm intensely afflicted. The room hasn't stopped spinning.

"I'm not gonna be able to walk," I bitch at him. "I can't go back downstairs!"

"You say that like it's a _bad _thing," He barks at me, trying to hide his obvious pride in himself for doing such a good job. He's lying on his side right behind me. I mean, I make it sound like he was really awful – the truth is just that I lost count of how many times he'd made me come, and it still had me beyond dizzy.

He traces his fingers along the curve of my hip. "Hey, at least it didn't hurt," He tries to cheer me up.

I laugh weakly. "…True, but it's hard…making myself stay so quiet."

"Yeah. I didn't like that part."

I shift onto my back so I can glare at him. "I think you liked it _just _fine."

He laughs and pulls me closer to him, kissing my temples and my forehead and my cheeks lovingly, and I can't help but laugh a bit too, hugging him back.

"…No, but for real, we can't go back downstairs," I murmur, a little bummed out, holding onto his warm chest.

"Did you really want to?" Inuyasha asks softly. "I guess…I got carried away," He admits, sighing. "Sorry, Kagome."

I bury my face into the space between his neck and shoulder, and he tightens his hold on me, and in spite of how worn out my body feels, I'm actually…really happy.

After several minutes of silence, I suddenly have an idea. "Hey. Let's go to the well."

He lightly pushes me away from him to look at my face. "Oy. After last time? For real?"

"Yeah," I urge, and he makes a really upset expression. "…Inuyasha…don't tell me you don't intend to return to our world…?"

"O-of course I do," He snaps. "It's just…without _tetsusaiga_, I can't do anything. You scared me so bad the last time we tried investigating it, with your fainting and all, I'm…hesitant."

I sigh, maybe I'm just still drunk, and it sounds like a better idea than it is.

"Hey…you called it _our _world," He smiles a little, once again pulling me into him. I blush fervently, somehow excited at getting called out.

"I h-have be-before, haven't I?"

"I mean, probably, but…just now it sounded really nice…I felt how much you meant it."

We're quiet again, for a long time.

"Inuyasha…"

"Hm…?"

"_Don't _fall asleep on me!"

He stirs and I stick my lower lip out at him. "Come on, let's go. We can't look at anyone else in the eye for tonight anyway. Especially not after you threw that freaking beer bottle and nearly killed someone."

He laughs really hard, remembering. "Oh, fuck, I forgot that. Ok, ok. We'll go."

* * *

When we get to my place, the only thing I want out of the rest of my evening is a nice long shower, but we don't head inside my house at all as soon as Inuyasha arrives at my lot. When I jump off his back, my legs are so wobbly I nearly fall, and we laugh together while he tries to support me. Well, at least I'm pretty much sober now.

_Miroku and Sango must think we're such bad friends…just using his spare bedroom like that and ditching them…hah…_

But our smiles fade as we approach the well carefully, and he holds onto my hand with no intention of letting go. I realize…this is my first time trying to enter this part of the shrine since a really long time ago, before I got my memory back.

I'd been so eager to visit it just half an hour ago, and now, my feelings wavered. I'm struck with a sense of duty, and this strange guilt that entails it. I'm…I'm ready to get back to Inuyasha's time…

…Yet without a bow or a single arrow on me, how can I be so sure?

We exchange a determined look, and start to go towards it. He lets go of my hand as I reach out and swing open the doors, wincing as though I'm expecting that strange bright light to come shooting out again if I get too close.

"K-Kagome!"

I whirl around as suddenly I see Inuyasha seem to get…pulled back, by some unknown force, and the doors slam shut on me. I throw myself at them, banging against them with the weight of my whole body. I'm panicking.

"Inuyasha! No!"

I hear him hitting the door really hard on the other side, and I feel the wood shake immensely, but it won't give. _What's going on?!_

"Kagome, I can't open it! There's a barrier!"

_A barrier?!_

My eyes overflow with tears. It's like every time we got so close, something else went completely wrong! I get really scared and angry about this.

"Wait there, I'm…I'm going to go up to the well," I tell him, desperate to figure this out.

"Kagome! No, wait until I break it down!" He shouts at me. But…if he didn't have the barrier-breaking _tetsusaiga, _what could he do? Brute strength unfortunately isn't enough. I swallow the lump in my throat, approaching the well, when an arrow shoots out of it and takes with it a few strands of my hair, narrowly missing my head, thudding hard into the door.

I gasp. That was Kikyou's. Without a doubt.

Oh…am I in trouble.


	21. Chapter 21

Inuyasha is still throwing himself at the door from the outside. He…he hasn't noticed the arrow, I guess it hadn't penetrated the wood entirely.

I struggle for air, still recovering from the shock of the arrow barely avoiding hitting me. Of course, that had to have been deliberate…but I'm grateful I'm not dead yet, anyways.

I see a pair of pale, shaky hands grab onto the ledge of the well, and I notice no body is brought up right away – the hands are still struggling. My natural instinct is to help, so I rush over and take those hands, helping up the person attempting to climb…and it's Kikyou, like I'd anticipated.

"I sensed…someone's presence," Is the first thing she says, hoisting herself over to sit down on the edge of the well. _She's not even gonna thank me for helping her up, huh? _

There's a faint light coming up from the well itself, softly illuminating the darkness in here, casting a bluish glow around the edges of her silhouette. How eerie…she narrows her eyes at me; I can tell from the way they flash as they close half-way. "I didn't expect it to be you."

"S-so you just were willing to shoot whoever?" I stammer out, annoyed now at how nondiscriminatory she was in shooting those arrows around. _How reckless! What if it had been Inuyasha and not me? That's…probably what she wanted._

"It, likely, would not have killed you anyway," She huffs, blowing me off entirely. "Answer me. Why are you here?"

I can't even begin to articulate how anxious and upset I am, locked away in a shrine with my boyfriend's dead ex-girlfriend. And what did she mean, that arrow wouldn't have killed me?! Of course it would have! She was underestimating me, obviously I'd know how spiritual power worked…and how it's imbued with the feelings of the bearer…

"I've been feeling compelled to come by for a long time," I say under my breath, not really sure how to express that this was just on a whim. Every other time, I was terrified of coming by here. My drunken courage had led to such a situation. "…so I finally did."

"You are safe in this world," She says, after a very long silence. "…why return?"

I start to open my mouth, then shut it. How can I respond to that? I briefly turn to glance over my shoulder up the stairs as I hear Inuyasha continually pound on the door outside, but Kikyou ignores him.

"Why make my sacrifice in vain?"

_What...? Was this…her showing me her weakness?_

"If you're my reincarnation, Kagome, you should understand."

I suddenly feel a headache coming on, just like all those awful ones I got before my memory returned. _Reincarnation. Everyone was obsessed at first, with the idea of that…before they recognized I was really myself – Kagome – and not just her, reborn._

"You and Inuyasha are safe in this world. The effects of my spell remain," She sounds like she's in pain, now, and I flinch, taking a step away at the impact of her words. My head throbs, and my heart races with worry at the fear I'm not getting the whole picture, somehow, just like all those other times. Why does she always have to be so cryptic?!

I notice, then…that there are tears in her eyes. Oh, God, I feel so guilty now I can't even breathe with how heavily it chokes me up. Of course, like I knew before, she knows now I've essentially replaced her in Inuyasha's heart. It's like a reversal of every other time when _I _was the one feeling like second fodder to her. She can't compete with me, who's alive…so why am I also wanting to cry?!

She doesn't want her sacrifice to be in vain because she gave her life to save all of us…but above all, she did it for Inuyasha. No one else.

I hate to change the topic…but I have to know. "S-so…you can go across the well?" I whisper out, hating how my voice breaks.

She doesn't respond right away – her face clears up as she suppresses her emotions. "Yes," is all she says.

I watch her delicately extend an arm out, downwards into the well. The light intensifies with this motion, and I take a step forward to get a better look at what she's doing. I gasp silently as a beautiful and large bow materializes right above her palm, and she reaches out her other hand to take into her arms a quiver full of bows. She drops them on the ground in front of her, then hoists her legs back over the edge.

"You must know by now, my job is essentially done, Kagome." Her beautifully sad voice echoes just barely. "I have but one thing left to do. After that…it's your turn.

She goes back down into the well with a flash of light, and my headache very slowly and painstakingly subsides. I take a few steps to where she'd been, picking up the bow and the quiver…ah, it's heavy, I'm not used to holding these anymore.

A tear falls down my cheek, out of nowhere. Ugh. I wipe it away, but then more keep tumbling down. I fall to my knees, unable to deny it anymore, accepting bitterly that I'll just have to cry this one out.

* * *

After a while, I head back up the little set of stairs and open the doors, no issue. Inuyasha has been pressed up against them, and he stumbles backwards as I come out.

"H-hey, what happened?!" He asks.

He then notices my new weapons. "…Oh…"

I start to walk past him, and it kills me that he's not reaching out to touch me, though I can tell he's trying in spite of being apprehensive. "Kagome?"

"I'm going to bed," I tell him in a tired and hollow voice, regretting I can't just run into his arms like I want to. But to my surprise, he grabs my sleeve and stops me, turning me around.

"Don't act like you have to deal with this alone. That's what you told me, isn't it?"

Man, I'm so sick of crying! I burst out into tears again, like a big baby. I drop the bow and he takes me into his arms for a huge hug, and I get tears and snot all over the front of his shirt, and I feel guiltier than ever.

"Fuck, every time I'm not gentle with you, something like this seems to happen," He, very clearly, sounds entirely sober compared to earlier, and I sniffle hard as he talks. I love how his voice rumbles softly through his chest, and vibrates against my cheek. "I'm sorry, Kagome…"

"This wasn't your fault, though," I murmur, and he looks at me, and is blushing with his brows furrowed together. Oh. I'd almost forgotten about earlier. Through my tears, I let out a small laugh.

"You're overthinking it."

"I guess," He laughs back weakly, then sighs, petting my hair soothingly. He picks up my stuff I'd dropped on the ground, and heaves me over his shoulder. I let out a little cry as he takes a big leap and runs across my lawn, then leaps up into the air to land at my bedroom window. _Aw, how sweet._

He opens it, since I habitually leave it unlocked for him, and he carries me over to my bed, placing me down on it gently. He puts the quiver and bow on the seat of my chair at my desk, and comes back over to kneel at my bedside, reaching out and stroking my hair again. Now instead of wanting to cry about Kikyou and her premonitions, I want to cry because of how nice he's being to me.

"Do you want me to stay?"

I blink, a little surprised by the question. Did he ask because he thinks he should? Or just to cheer me up, even if I say no?

"Sure," I whisper, sitting up. "You wait here. I'm going to shower."

"Can I join you?"

I giggle. "No!"

* * *

I don't make Inuyasha wait too long – I don't have to wash my hair, so I just scrub my body squeaky clean, and sigh about a million times in relief as I enjoy the abundance of hot water, remembering all those miserable times I had to bathe in cold lakes in the _sengoku jidai._

I come back into my room in nothing but a towel. And, like the weirdo I am, I change into a little silk set of pajamas behind my door, not wanting him to see me naked. You know…not like we'd already slept together or anything…

I climb into bed with him; and jump a little as I realize he's only in his boxers.

"Don't worry," He mutters, like he thinks I'm scared he'll pounce on me. I laugh a bit, sheepishly adjusting myself under the covers as he holds them up for me, then wraps me up in his strong arms with a yawn and a delightfully calm sigh.

His skin…is so warm. Even without bathing with me, he smells clean and masculine and everything I crave. He breathes into my hair, holding me closer to him, tighter, like he's apologizing with his body for having been so indelicate with mine earlier this evening.

I want…to immerse myself in this moment for as long as possible, but with how comfortable and safe he's got me feeling, I pass out almost immediately.

* * *

In the morning, we leave for school together. I try to shove him out of my house, but my mama insists he stays for breakfast, which delights Souta more than anyone else. I'm so embarrassed, unsure why my mama is so okay with this! I almost…_wanted _to be sneaking him around like a _NORMAL_ teenager with a _NORMAL _mom would have to do!

When we get to school, everyone's giving us those knowing grins. Most people had been at the party yesterday, and it almost feels surreal that it wasn't the weekend because of that. I hear rumors that the guy who nearly got hit by the bottle Inuyasha threw is looking to find whoever did it – to fight him – but I think once he finds out it was him, he'll back down on that.

During lunch, the four of us all skip and go to the rooftop together.

"Yeah…it's actually lucky you two left the party when you did, because the police came and broke it all up pretty early on," Miroku sighs sadly as he sets aside his _bentou._

"Keh! That's what you get," Inuyasha sneers at him while slurping ramen.

"Oh yeah? Mr. Thinks-it's-okay-to-throw-glass-into-a-crowd-of-people?" Sango sticks her tongue out at him while he puts a hand behind his head and laughs. "Jesus! That was so annoying to clean up in the middle of a party! I mean…who even does that, drunk or not?! Kagome should have _sat _you."

He flinches, and yet again is overcome with relief, like every time. I resent more than anything the command still doesn't work.

"Guys, today we're going to find Naraku," Inuyasha totally changes the topic then, and we all look at him with surprise. "…No more fun and games."

I look down at my hands in my lap, remembering last night.

"Did…something happen to solicit this?" Miroku asks, noticing my downcast expression.

"I received a sign," I say quietly. "I saw Kikyou…by myself…and she gave me a set of arrows and a bow. I mean….well, what else could it mean?"

Sango and Miroku share a concerned look. "Inuyasha, did you ask Kagome-chan if she was okay with this?" She scolds him, and we both lift our heads in bewilderment.

"H-how can you ask me that?!" Inuyasha snarls back, getting visibly upset.

"Hey, no, it's alright," I get up to stand in between them, because now they look like they want to fight. "I appreciate your concern, Sango-chan…but really, it's okay. It was my fate to come into the _sengoku jidai _and eliminate the jewel in the first place, remember? It's just…continuing now, in my time."

Everyone glances away, really uncomfortable with my words. I sigh out. It's not like I'm happy about it either…

_But what else could I do?_

"I'll definitely protect you," Inuyasha swears to me, frowning resolutely.

"We'll _all _protect you." Sango cuts him off, giving me a grin.

I grin, feeling a lot better now, wiping my eyes at the first feeling of tears so I don't start actually crying in front of them.

"Thanks…you guys. I-I'll…try my best."

"Alright!" Inuyasha gets up. "Let's go!"

I shoot him a dirty look. "I am _not _missing another test because of you! You're gonna have to wait until after school when I'm done with my retake."

He growls at me, unable to argue, and Miroku holds his hands up at him. "Now, now, if we're going to rely on Kagome-sama so much, let's make it on her terms, alright?"

Inuyasha rolls his eyes impatiently. "Ughhh. Right, right, I got it. You all, meet me at my place when Kagome's done," He jumps up onto the top of the fence, leaps down, and disappears.

"Well, I guess we've been given our orders," Sango's sarcasm is scathing. We perk up as the warning bell rings, and rush back into the building so we can sneak back into the halls while they're crowded.

"Good luck with your test, Kagome," They tell me happily, as we separate ways.

I take in a deep breath as I head into my classroom. The test, which I haven't even had the chance to study for, somehow still seems easier than the circumstances the four of us are about to face.

_Ah…I hope I'm ready._


	22. Chapter 22

_(i hope everyone is enjoying all these chapters i've been working on while i procrastinate on my finals! haha. sooo worth it though. xx)_

* * *

When the day is _finally _over, I rush out of the building and head to the bus stop to meet up with everyone at Inuyasha's apartment, not even thinking about that test I probably bombed anymore. Sango and Miroku clearly hadn't waited for me after their last classes ended, but it was fine since we're all meeting up anyway…

In fact, it was kind of nice to have a little alone time, for once. No one had tried stopping me at school (I'd almost gotten used to that), no one bothers me on the bus, and for even just fifteen minutes, my soul knows a little undisturbed peace.

I sigh though, heading up the stairs after getting off, already hearing shouting from his flat before I'm close to it. I shake my head, laughing a little to myself. _Jeez, his neighbors probably hate him…_

I knock on the door and wait. I hear several pairs of rumbling footsteps come up and the door swings open so hard I fear it might get broken – all three of them, with Shippou on Inuyasha's shoulders, are standing there and grinning.

"Kagome!" "Kagome-chan!" They all chorus.

A huge smile erupts on my face, I can't feel concerned anymore with how happily they greet me! The light inside me seems to overflow, and they all come out and Inuyasha closes the door behind him. Ah, I guess they really did mean to take care of business immediately…I was almost expecting…hoping, even, to get let inside.

"We have a plan," Miroku tells me officiously as we head downstairs. My friends' combined bodies practically shove me forth and do the walking for me.

"Oh?"

"You're going to shoot an arrow into the well," Sango adds on, making a little motion like she's doing it.

"…It should make that bastard Naraku come out, and we'll be ready to fight," Inuyasha growls, balling his hands into a fists.

"I've gotta stay strong!" Shippou declares.

"You guys…I feel like that's a little _too_ easy," I say nervously, slowly feeling my exalted mind settle back down to reality. Denial _sucks_. Maybe…maybe Kikyou was right, we're safe in this world, why should we-?

_No! No, no, NO! I can't keep being so SELFISH! I mean, Jesus, Kagome! It's all your fault your friends are stuck in this mess…okay, maybe I'm not specifically to blame…but still, with that attitude…I…!_

"It's the only thing we can try, though," Inuyasha tells me gruffly, picking me up onto his back. I let out a cry of surprise as he roughly grabs onto my thighs and powerfully leaps off the banister of the stairs, and heads out the back of the apartment complex so he can fly through the woods. I wail out a little, almost not used to this anymore for how frequently we'd been using public transportation and walking like _normal _people instead. I look over my shoulder to see Sango and Miroku on Kirara's back. Ah, when had Kirara gotten here?!

"Kohaku's on his way, too," Sango tells me, noticing my astonished and horrified expression. I'm amazed – it's like, without any of the city in our vicinity, us making our way through the forest this way feels just like it did 500 years ago in the past…

We arrive at my house shortly thereafter, and I sneak my friends out past the front of my home over towards the shrine that encases the well.

"Wow, so this is where Kagome lives," Sango murmurs as we walk by, giving a slight little reverent bow.

"Only natural that a priestess would live at a shrine, I assume," Miroku says respectfully, putting a hand to the front of his face in a half-praying motion as we walk by.

I laugh a little. "Tourists visit here once in a while, actually, so you don't have to be so formal! We even sell little fake _shikon no tama _charms. It couldn't get any cheesier."

They look at each other and grin sheepishly at getting caught acting old-fashioned in this modern day and age. I, secretly, was really happy to witness that. It renews my hope in successfully getting us all back to their time.

They all let me go up to the doors first. I glance over at them nervously, swallowing hard. Miroku looks intrigued, Sango looks determined, and Inuyasha…looks so serious…he's scowling and making quiet growling sounds under his breath, clearly very unhappy with letting me go inside alone.

I open the doors hesitantly, after having a really hard time breaking eye contact with them, and walk in. There is no barrier, no flash of light, nothing…just the calm silence of the outside, the slight damp darkness of the enclosed well – and nothing else.

"O-oh, silly me," I stick out my tongue. "…I need the bow and arrow if I'm gonna do this, now don't I?"

"Kagome!" Shippou cries out at me, disappointed. Miroku and Sango just laugh, probably out of secondhand embarrassment.

Inuyasha disappears in a flash, not even bothering to chide me, and he heads up to my bedroom window. He comes back out right away, holding the bow and quiver in his arms, his figure a blur the whole time. He holds his ears back as he walks over to me and places them in my hands. "Th-thanks," I stammer, still not processing how quickly he'd done that.

"Yeah," He says back, glancing away as I stare at him, blushing a little. "D…D-do your best."

_Right, _I think in agreement, turning back around to face the well. I remember all those times I'd had dreams and nightmares alike of shooting arrows to save my life, and now, here I am, reenacting those same scenes. I feel a tremor come about in my knees as I take a few more steps forward…

Either nothing will happen…or _everything _will happen…

I hear the soft sound of someone else joining us, and look over in my distraction to see Kohaku has arrived. He goes up to Sango's side, and with some sort of new, heavy emotion welling up within me, I see they're all gazing at me with so much faith.

_Ah…right. Everyone's counting on me! I've…I've got this!_

I take a few steps over, standing right above the staircase, looking straight down into the well. I frown a little at the sight, thinking happily and sadly of all the trouble this thing has caused me. But…if it weren't for the well…I'd have never met Inuyasha…

Just one more time, for the reassurance it provides, I look over, and he gives me the smallest nod.

_Inuyasha…!_

Almost as if his name, and the confidence he sends flooding through me is the trigger, I pull an arrow out of my quiver and strap it to the bow, feeling intense power course through my stance. I sense Kikyou's light pouring out from every corner of my existence, giving me purpose, and my arm trembles slightly with the rediscovered strength. I pull it back with every intent I can find within me.

A little further…just a little further…I tense my fingers to the point it hurts, and cry out as the immense power the arrow has sends it shooting off straight down into the well with a deafening _whoosh_, sending my body flying forward with the intensity it carries. _I…I underestimated my strength,_ I think in terror, as I keep falling – I can't catch onto anything or stop—

"Kagome!" I hear Inuyasha scream my name and I twist my neck to see him flying after me in midair, horror written on every single feature. He catches my waist, effectively only making our combined weight speed up our fall…and we fall for what feels like forever as everything within my eyes but his figure becomes drenched in a blinding white light…

_What have I done?! What's happening to us!_

* * *

When we hit the ground, my eyes see only black. Oh…because I fell face down, of course. I cough out as I realize I've got a mouthful of grass on my tongue, and shake my head side to side as I resituate myself. Inuyasha, who's fallen on top of me, is so heavy.

"H-hey," I sputter, trying to push him off of me. I suddenly realize, something isn't right. Grass…? Isn't the bottom of the well only covered in dirt? I glance around to find us in the middle of a clearing in the woods, in a broad and beautiful daytime. I have to let my eyes adjust to the strong sunlight. _Why is this so familiar…?_

"Inuyasha!" I shout, pulling him up and shaking him in a frenzy at suddenly recognizing where we are. He blinks, totally dazed, then comes to and those amber eyes flicker, taking in our surroundings. His ears and hair seem to stand on end.

"Holy fucking shit," He gasps, looking around frantically. Both our eyes fall upon the arrow I'd shot, which sits just a few feet in front of us, and the Bone-eater's well just to our right.

"K-Kagome, it fucking worked!" He yells at me. Why is he yelling?! He throws his arms around me, laughing and rejoicing, but I don't think we can be excited _just _yet.

"What about everyone else?!" I cry, shoving him away. "How did this happen in the first place?! You said Naraku would come out!"

"Th-that's what I thought would happen, since he came out of the well that one night to try and attack us," He yells back at me, and now we're both freaking out. "…Unless…he was doing that as a diversion…"

"Kikyou told me she could cross between my world and this one, but…I truly feel as though if I hadn't tried shooting that arrow, it wouldn't have worked for you _or_ me this time…so, why…?"

"You looked really cool doing that, though, Kagome," He tells me, looking excited like a little kid. Yeesh, what a one-track mind. "Your whole body…like…was glowing! And you looked all badass!"

I let out a weak laugh. "Well, thanks, it was…kind of an out-of-body experience, really…"

Suddenly his lit-up face darkens, and his nose twitches as he catches the scent of something. I look over to where he's facing, and a shadow crosses his handsome features…I follow his eyes, ah, it's Kikyou. Approaching us.

"How did you get here?" She asks, trying to look calm, but shock is betrayed in her undertone. She glances just past us, where my arrow lays embedded in the earth, and a look of understanding dawns on her face.

"So it seems Naraku failed at sealing your powers," Kikyou says, walking past us and picking up the arrow. "This is from the quiver I gave you. These have Onigumo's cave's dirt on the arrowheads. You effectively broke his curse on you with your purifying powers, Kagome."

_Says the woman who told me I'd only be an interference in the beginning, _I think haughtily, but I keep my mouth shut. The last thing I needed was _extra _drama.

"…Why did it work, though?" Inuyasha asks, echoing me, sounding a little awkward. Ah. This is probably the first time they've talked since…long before he confessed to me.

Kikyou's eyes flash dangerously at him, yet her face stays coolly unaffected. I wince on the inside. This was _so _uncomfortable…I keep looking away and back, reflecting on how different it was for me to be staying by his side when I used to always run away in their presence together.

"I was testing Kagome," She says, her voice almost biting. "If Kagome shot the arrow and didn't have true intentions of getting your friends back, she wouldn't have crossed over. I did not account for her to take action so soon. You coming along, Inuyasha…was _also_ not accounted for."

Inuyasha keeps a straight face but I feel his body next to me flinch at how coldly she says that. Oh, God. I knew it. She's not going to help us. If she does still after this, it's out of obligation, _not _kindness.

"This was not effectively supposed to happen, however," She tells us. "Being in my presence on this side will shorten my time." A perfectly-timed ill cough escapes her lips, and I'm so alarmed and confused. "Even if you broke the curse on you, Kagome, it has not lessened on me. You must return…until I give you a signal."

_Did it work…because of everyone's encouragement? Did it work because Inuyasha flew into the well with me, and our bond that connects us across time? I wish she wasn't so freaking obscure with her word choice!_

Inuyasha gasps a little at that. He stands up, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. I stare at his face in shock as he stares at Kikyou affirmatively, pulling me up into his arms like a child, and hurriedly leaping back into the well, racing the now-ticking clock.

We cross over…just like old times. I can't stop frowning. I'm _not _satisfied with this turn of events.

* * *

Sango and Miroku are there waiting, helping us up as we come up to the ledge of the well on my time. Their faces are so shocked, and I sigh out, not ready to explain without even knowing half the answers as to why what had just happened, did.

"You got it to work," Kohaku says in surprise as the two of us leap out.

I bury my face in my hands, beyond stressed. I truly had thought my effort would have been enough. What was I expecting…a magical one-time fix to a year-long problem?

"Well, it works, but we'll only be shortening Kikyou's lifespan if we spend time over there, apparently," Inuyasha does the talking for me. I can feel him looking at me, and I wonder what he's thinking…yet, somehow, I also don't care, I'm too disappointed to. "She…said she'll give a signal for when the time's right."

"Before this, she did tell me there was one thing she had left to do, also," I add on, letting go of my face to tilt my head back and stare at the wooden ceiling. I can tell they're all curious as to when _that_ occurred, but thank God they don't inquire further.

Sango sighs out. "A cat and mouse kind of waiting game, this is," She surmises.

"Man, just forget it," I choke out, shoving past all of them to rush out of the shrine. I hear them all burst into a huge argument behind me as soon as I'm gone, and Inuyasha doesn't come running after me in the midst of defending himself from everyone else's sudden onslaught. Tears start filling up the corners of my eyes, and I blink them away hurriedly, walking back into my house, locking the door.

Ah, there's a note on the kitchen table.

_Kagome! I'm out with Souta and Jii-chan, we're out at the movies and should be home for dinner!_

I glance at the clock. It's only 4 PM…that's at least two hours of privacy. I head upstairs, heaving out a depressed sigh as I throw myself onto my bed, too mad at myself to want to look at Inuyasha's face anymore, or anyone's, for that matter.

_I was so convinced my arrow would be enough! _

But how stupid was that? Shooting an arrow into the well reawakened our ability to cross, but it didn't defeat the very villain responsible for sending us all to my world in the first place. And on top of that, Kikyou told me she had just been testing me. Hmph, just like always before, at least that part hadn't changed.

I forget I'd been holding onto the bow this whole time, like it's been glued to my hand. I throw it down onto the floor along with the quiver full of arrows and I wince a bit…I should be more delicate. But, whatever. I curl my body up and roll over onto my side, blinking back tears.

_Maybe Kikyou is just saying she didn't want her sacrifice to be in vain, because she still has an attachment to this world, and to the living, _I muse. _But…she told me as her reincarnation, I should understand._

Just what was there to understand!

Then, suddenly, it makes sense. _Duh, Kagome. _This all started with the jewel. It has to _end _with the jewel. Not some purifying arrow, not my wimpy _miko _powers, not Inuyasha's _tetsusaiga_, not burning the jewel away with anyone's body…

_The shikon no tama! We can't just combine the two separate parts. We have to entirely make it…_

_Disappear!_


	23. Chapter 23

Inuyasha never came back that evening, and the next day at school, I can't find him in the hallways before class. I…actually got to study, but even as I wait around for him by my locker in the morning, I'm bummed out regardless.

They were all fighting over something when I'd walked away. I hope Sango and Miroku didn't make him so mad, he wouldn't want to see my face…!

Yet, earlier this morning, I _swear_ I'd glimpsed him hanging around the outside of my window! Only for him to disappear once I'd felt the presence of someone lingering, and had turned to see a pair of white ears vanishing. How like him…to be concerned from a distance, and still be scared of me. _Hmph! Coward!_

I still wish I know what they had argued over, as well…I mean, our plan had half-succeeded and half-failed. Yet in spite of the minor success, I still feel like I was a failure entirely. I bitterly imagine Kikyou thinking the same thing, and I puff out my cheeks and get a few strange looks for fuming all by myself about seemingly nothing, with such a nasty expression on my face, probably.

The warning bell rings, and I stubbornly remain at my locker, hoping I'll catch him running in late. Then, after several heartrendingly slow second pass, he still doesn't arrive, and I walk into homeroom a hair before the end bell rings. My teacher gives me a cautionary threatening glance, and I avert my eyes.

About thirty minutes into class, Inuyasha decides to randomly show up, with this look on his face that reminds me of the very first day I saw him here…utterly disinterested, and definitely, a little bit pissed off. He stalks in and avoids my gaze, adjusting his beanie uncomfortably.

"Inuyasha," I whisper as he passes, taking his seat behind me. I notice his expression unwillingly soften at my voice, crumbling under the pressure of trying to not happily acknowledge me, and the teacher gives me another mean look for being distracted. I blush as I notice a few classmates looking at me odd, or smirking at me.

_Aaahh!_

But he ignores me…and he's out of the building before I can even follow him out of class.

Yikes…!

* * *

I spend all day hunting for him. For whatever reason, Sango and Miroku both didn't show up to school today, and I start to wonder if Inuyasha has left also at this point…

I end up skipping lunch. I can't get to the rooftop without Sango, since she's the one who carries a spare key to the door that leads up there, and dodging hall monitors and random teachers passing through the hallways ends up taking most of my energy.

By the end of the day, I still haven't caught Inuyasha, and I'm exhausted. There turns out to be a pop-quiz in my math class – of course, just my luck! On an empty stomach and an aching heart, I'm screwed at any chance of getting a decent score, and as I turn it in I kiss a fat goodbye to any last hope at getting good grades this semester.

I stop by my locker to grab my stuff, and start to leave the building, sighing incessantly. I want to see him…but he's still scared that I'm angry! _Jerk!_

I guess I don't blame him, considering how I'd stormed off the other day after our mishap with crossing the well. It feels surreal…like it hardly even happened—

I let out a squeal as someone suddenly grabs me – not like grabbing just my wrist or anything; this person literally throws their whole arms around my body and smothers my mouth with their bicep, not even giving me a chance to struggle in defense. I get snatched into a janitor's closet in the dark, my bloody-murder screaming muffled through a mouthful of fabric.

What was this?! A kidnapping?! Who is it – Kouga? Hojo-kun?! I fight for my life, squirming and writhing around with all the force I can muster from within my small body.

"Stop that!" A male's voice sneers at me, and I stop flailing.

"I-Inuyasha?!" I stammer, still choking on the sleeve of his shirt.

He lets go somewhat, and then pulls me down to the floor with him so no one sees us through the little window on the door. He keeps his arms around me, almost more like he doesn't want me to escape rather than in a hugging kind of way.

"What are you doing!" I demand, whispering fiercely.

He just stares at me, frowning. I frown back at him, getting kind of annoyed. So he avoids me all day, then wants to pull me into a dark closet, as though he can't think of _any_ other _normal _way of talking to me privately…_he could be so weird sometimes…_

"Avoiding you was _so_ hard, Kagome," He sputters all of a sudden, still looking at me really intently. "I couldn't keep at it any longer."

"No one was _making _you do it," I tell him, rolling my eyes.

"…Y-you haven't gotten that mad in a long time!" He replies haughtily. "I…I thought approaching you would make you madder!"

"I wasn't mad at _you,_" I snap, "I was mad at _myself._"

Now I'm irritated all over again just thinking about it, and his features soften a little. He loosens his tight grip on me, then gently pulls me to him closer.

"Oh…I was worried it was the other way around," He exhales, stroking my hair. My eyes widen in surprise, and I feel my heart start pounding at the gesture. He…he was so sensitive, in spite of that tough act. _I like him best, when he's like this. _I find it kind of amusing he was so frightened, though. I'm not _that _scary…especially without my _osuwari, _he had nothing to worry about!

"You shouldn't be mad at yourself though," He speaks after a while of silence. "You did your best. Hell, you undid the part of the curse that kept us in this time. We're halfway there, thanks to you, Kagome."

I gasp a little. "Inuyasha…"

"…So don't worry about it so much," He finishes, sounding annoyed and embarrassed now for getting all sentimental. I feel his ears go backward, and his heart racing just a little more, too.

The tile beneath us feels cold on my bare legs, and the air is musty, especially with us sitting on the floor like this. He tightens his hold on me, and I shiver a little at the feeling of his warm breath going down the back of my shirt. His familiar scent comforts me, and I sigh out, deciding to believe in his encouragement.

Then, his hands start to wander – I feel them go down my back, stroking over my thighs. I pull my leg up to push him away, with my foot on his chest, keeping him as far from me as possible. I feel like such a thing was only possible in such a cramped and tiny space like this anyway…but it still looks so risqué.

"We're _not _going to be doing anything of the sort in a freaking _closet _at _school_, Inuyasha. Jeez. You have no sense of _atmosphere!_"

He lets out a weak laugh, but his face looks angry. "Who said I was gonna try?! Maybe I just wanted to comfort you. Can I not touch you at all!"

"Who knew all this time you were a pervert deep down, no better than Miroku," I mutter at him, as he ignores me and caresses my leg up to where my sock ends at my calf. He gives a huff, like I've offended him.

"Says the one who's impossible to resist," He growls under his breath, leaning up over me, making me slide down onto my back. I get a cramp in my leg from buckling it underneath him and I have to bend it as he presses his weight onto me, resenting now that I'd tried to kick him away. He holds that leg hard, hoisting it up over his hip, bending down to kiss my neck firmly.

I gasp out. "Inuyasha! Cut it out! T-this…ah…this is like, the LEAST romantic place e-EVER!"

He lets go of me, sitting back up, smirking. "Ohh. You want romance, then?"

"N-not after you were playing hide-and-seek with me all day," I retort, sitting back up, smoothing my skirt back down, my face so hot, it hurts.

"Let me make it up to you," He growls sexily, laughing at himself and reaching for me again, but I let out a yelp and shove him away, not about to let him just do whatever he wants.

I stand up on shaky legs and run out of the closet, throwing my bag back over my shoulder, speeding out of there as fast as possible before anyone catches on I'd been in there – much less, with a _man! _I slam the door in his face, knowing if he's going to come after me, I have to slow him down by a few seconds.

"OY, KAGOME!" Oh, God, he's chasing after me now and screaming my name like he's going to kill me!

I laugh my head off, glad at least hardly anyone was in the halls anymore now that they'd left for the day. I run out through the doors and he catches up to me, of course, with his freakish speed and stamina – the force with which he grabs me and lifts me up sends my legs flying out, and for a moment he has me feeling like I was flying.

But, my joy at him finally coming back around is interrupted when I suddenly feel dizzy, collapsing a little in his arms.

"H-hey, what's the matter," He asks, tilting his head to look at me.

I'm so lightheaded, and I wonder for the life of me, why, until my stomach growls ferociously and I let out a weak giggle.

"…I skipped lunch, since I was so busy searching for you," I laugh out, embarrassed, and he gets a _really_ mad look on his face.

"What the hell! Why would you do that?!" He lets go, to start dragging me away by my wrist. "Let's go get food, right now. God, that was seriously stupid of you."

"Well _for-_give me for being concerned," I mutter, holding my belly and trying to ease the soreness…trying to not show I was happy about him spoiling me. "I thought _you_ were the one angry at me. I wouldn't have been able to eat anyways."

He glances at me over his shoulder, a little smile at the corners of his mouth betraying his being upset with me. "Kagome…"

We get an early dinner, stuffing ourselves, having a great time, and when he takes me home, I can't help but acutely notice how intensely we ignore the shrine, and the well.

* * *

That night, I have plenty of time to take a lovely bath, style my hair, and put on my favorite set of satin pajamas. To my surprise, Inuyasha hadn't pestered me into letting him stick around, or continue any of that nonsense that had occurred in the closet. I'm happy knowing that he's just glad I'm okay.

_Poor Sango_, I think, on that note. _I feel like Miroku doesn't afford her that luxury. He's probably jumping her bones constantly, sad or not!_

I review some notes before hopping into bed, figuring I'll just wake up early and study them some more before class – but we all know that's not about to happen. I pass out so deeply and quickly, the sleep itself feels better than a dream.

* * *

But naturally, such a dream had to come to an end, and in my case, even better – it turns into a nightmare! I find myself running in an open field, legs killing me as though I'd been running for ages. The quiver on my back is surprisingly light and I realize it's empty, but the terror of not having any arrows weighs on me heavier than if it had been full in the first place.

_Just what am I running from…? _I expect, almost, to hear Naraku's evil cackling in the distance, but there is complete silence other than the rush of the wind through the dead grass, and my feet pounding on the ground.

I come to a halt, panting for breath painfully while staring up at the sky, like it'll give me the answer. It's a deep shade of crimson…the sun's setting. My heart throbs hard in my chest, and I cough out as the blood rushes back up into my heart and the rest of my body from my legs…which are _killing _me…

I hear footsteps behind me, and I turn around, wincing at the awful cramp in my side that twinges as I move my torso. Ah…it's Kikyou.

_Was she…chasing me? _Her countenance is completely calm…it's almost as though this is a chance encounter, but something in how scared I am tells me that's not the case…

"Why not stay in your world? Why make my sacrifice in vain?" She repeats herself from the last time we'd met.

Ah…that headache again! I feel tears fill my eyes as I grip my temples, dropping the heavy bow I'd been holding onto. I gasp as I watch it hit the ground and disappear into a sparkling cloud of smoke. I grasp for it, but it's gone. I cry out a bit as I feel the flash of heat that makes my quiver disappear also.

"You're not going to be able to make it back here," She says forebodingly.

"J-just what do you mean!" I yell back. "I passed your dumb test! Inuyasha and I's bond allowed us to cross time again! He…he told me I made it halfway!"

"And you will make it no further," She cuts me off, a shadow flitting across her expression at my mention of the man we shared in common.

_No further?! _I stare at her with my mouth parted, trying to understand, but the migraine worsens. The sky turns dark. I manage to open my eyes again just to see her walking away.

"H-hey, just you wait a minute," I force out, amazed at how much effort it takes to talk. I start after her, but the pain from running for so long combined with this headache stops me.

But why bother speaking with her, or trying to fight about it anymore?

_She's gone._


	24. Chapter 24

"Kikyou's not going to give us the sign," I sigh out, trying to not let an exasperated moan escape through my voice. We're on the rooftop during lunch break, a few days after I had that awful dream.

Inuyasha, Sango, and Miroku all raise their eyebrows at me, my words slicing through the middle of their quietly and happily enjoying lunch. I'd been just picking at mine, and was weirdly silent, until now. I'm not sure…why that thought suddenly incited me to talk.

"What's with this all of a sudden?" Inuyasha asks me, looking a little annoyed at my sudden reservation, but mostly, I see how he's more so concerned than anything else. I don't want to admit how much I like his eagerness in asking me, in spite of how selfish I'm acting.

"It's just a feeling," I mutter, only half-lying, pulling my knees up and staring off into the distance…spacing out. Sango and Miroku exchange a _look, _and Inuyasha's face grows increasingly disconcerted.

"H-hey, what's going on," He repeats himself, frowning, coming over to sit in front of me from where he'd been at my side. _I…I can't make eye contact with him…_

"Why don't we just stay here in my world, where we can't get harmed?" I murmur, hating how bitter and cynical I sound. Somehow, there's this new negativity swelling up in me I'd never had before…no doubt, due to that dream. Or nightmare, I should be calling it. "That's what Kikyou would want."

"Cut it out, Kagome," He demands, grabbing my arm, startling me back into paying attention. I feel my eyes grow wide at the seriousness shadowing his expression, and the slight growl in his voice. "…I really don't like this."

_Is he going to leave me behind, if I keep this up? _I think sourly, feeling my eyes tearing up at his words. Of course he wouldn't like my talking this way. Even _I _didn't like it…but I felt too weak to fight the gnawing doubt in my heart about our situation. We'd finally gotten so far. We got back across the well. Just to get sent back…

"It's unlike me, isn't it?" I ask, unable to stop a tear falling down my cheek. I watch his face fade from anger to sorrow as I talk, and start to cry. "I'm…usually not the type who gives up…"

"A-ah…well, wait, okay. Do you think…you could leave us alone?" Inuyasha asks Miroku, Sango; wrapping his arms around me as I tremble from the effort of holding back each little sob.

They stand up, but they don't walk away – instead they just get right up in his face. "Of _course_ not," Miroku scolds him.

"What do you think friends are for?" Sango sighs out exasperatedly, taking me away from him and hugging me instead, while giving him a bored glare. I hold onto her, too stunned now to keep crying.

Inuyasha stares at them in surprise. "…W-well, do whatever you want!" He mutters angrily, crossing his now-empty arms with a huff.

Miroku gives a weak grin. "It's times like this we have to support Kagome-sama, _together,_" He says, giving Inuyasha a bonk on the head. "Not just leave you alone with her."

"Ohh? Says Mr. Gigolo over here," He snarls back, blushing, pushing his hand away.

I feel a little awkward with my face pressed into Sango's boobs, but she doesn't seem to care as she strokes my hair softly with her cheek pressed against my head. God…she's so busty…I feel bad for Kohaku, if she still hugs him as tightly and as often as I remembered she did…

Miroku has a pretty serious look on his face, but it dissipates into a really stupid looking one as he pulls his cell phone out of his pocket and holds it up to take a picture of us. Inuyasha makes some sort of _grrr _sound and smacks the phone out of his hand.

"H-hey! If you break my phone, you're buying me a new one," Miroku complains, getting up to go get it from where it slid several feet away. Of course he'd try and capture us in a compromising position. _Of course!_

"Fucking perv," Inuyasha scoffs, turning his head the other away. _Nice save._

Finally…I can't help but laugh a little, unable to feel so bad anymore with their antics. Sango lets go of me a little to look at my face. "Are you feeling a bit better?"

"I-I think so," I exhale, suddenly tired. "I…don't know what's up with me…?"

"It's okay to not be optimistic all the time," She responds, sounding so older-sisterly…I swear I love her more than any other girl friends I have combined. "We're only human. Sometimes it's hard."

But I frown, still. Why do I feel like that's not a good enough explanation, for this uncharacteristic attitude of mine?

"Kagome…" Inuyasha asks me, "…are you doing anything in your classes after this?"

"Eh? Well…um, no, I don't think so—"

He snatches me out of Sango's hold, and she lets out a cry of surprise at the same time I do. Before anyone can stop him, like a kidnapping freak, he throws me over his shoulder and leaps off the top of the fence surrounding the rooftop. I nearly throw up due to the velocity with which he speeds down onto the ground, disappearing with me into the forest. I hear our friends shouting out at us from up above.

"What's your problem?!" I gasp out, hitting his shoulders. "They were only trying to help!"

"We're gonna talk," He snaps back at me. Aside from the motion-induced nausea, the anxiety his words give me make me feel even sicker. "No interruptions."

"I-I never consented to this," I sputter, managing to swallow away the sick feeling. He just laughs at me…and my apprehension starts to mix in with anger. When we get to my house in less than ten minutes, he leaps up to my bedroom window, and I regret not locking it this morning! Why is he so stubborn about getting his way all the time?!

Inuyasha doesn't let me down right away as he enters, and I keep struggling, even as he lets me down onto my bed. He holds my wrists down tightly, his long nails digging into my skin. He looks…frighteningly serious. I feel my face get hot at the intimacy of it all, but shake off those thoughts, knowing that right now isn't the time or place.

"You didn't mean that earlier, did you?" He demands, his voice low…very cautiously borderline threatening…

I'm making the meanest face I possibly can at him, for the fact he's holding me down (as though I'm not a defenseless girl!), and when I don't reply right away he tightens his grip on my wrists harder, making me squeal out a little. "_Did _you?!" I realize from his tone that I've hurt his feelings, and a twang of guilt courses through me, but resolutely, I remember that he has no idea about _mine._

"Why don't you go yell at _Kikyou_ for putting those thoughts into my head!" I hiss at him, resenting the fact my family is still at home, downstairs…I can't be screaming at him like I want to. "If you know how unlike me this is, why not blame the person who's _responsible!"_

His amber eyes go wide, staring all the way through mine, and I'm crying again, and he still won't let go – but I can see he's no longer furious…just completely stunned.

"I'm not kidding you, Inuyasha, that's what she said to me. Twice now. That's why I said she's not going to give us the sign." The tears are hot and they singe my cheeks, and I can't look into his shocked face anymore as I shut my eyes tight, crying with the pain of admitting the truth, and sniffling hard. "Why should she? She said to me, 'why make my sacrifice in vain?' She _said_ that to me…!"

He lets go of his grip on me, pulling me up into his arms to hug me so hard I start coughing from being unable to breathe. I'm a hot mess of tears and aching and I let it all out into his shirt. _It feels so good to get it off my chest…_

"No wonder you were talking like that, after bottling it in," He tells me, soothing me a little more with his hands softly stroking my back. "…Sorry I got so upset. It just…kind of freaked me out, with how…that didn't sound at all like the Kagome I know."

"I broke Naraku's curse on me, so you don't have to worry about that," I mutter into his warm chest.

He doesn't reply and just sighs, and I sigh out too, knowing he won't believe me so easily, especially with me acting like this. It was too much effort to try and convince someone as headstrong as him otherwise.

"Is there anything else on your mind?" He asks me gruffly, like he's ready for something even worse…but doing his expected boyfriendly duty of making sure I'm taken care of.

"…No, that's about as bad as it got," I tell him. He lets go of his grip on me a little, and I drop down onto my back on my bed, feeling delicious about missing class. A bit ashamed…but honestly, it felt like I'd given up on my grades forever ago, since Inuyasha came back into my life.

I gasp inwardly, at the thought. He was all I could ever think about. Back then, and even now. It's like I'd forgotten…I was meant for this…and him for me—

"If you need motivation…" He speaks to me again after nearly half an hour of us chilling there in silence. I glance at his honey eyes full of feeling as he draws himself nearer, stretching out alongside me, holding his ears back. "…me being in love with you…should be enough…"

"Inuyasha," I inhale sharply. I hadn't heard him say it since…since that first time originally. My tear stained cheeks feel hot all over again, but I'm sure he's blushing harder than I am.

I throw my arms around him, pressing my face tight against his collarbone. "Thank you!…you know, that's always what kept me going anyway…"

_Ahh, what am I saying?! _I'm sure now I've beaten him in the red-faced department. He pulls me away with his hands on my waist, looking at me with an expression full of meaning; very intently, very sexily.

Ugh. That face was my weakness. I bite my lower lip nervously, but this me who is overwhelmed with emotion forces a kiss on him first before he even gets a chance to move a centimeter closer to my face. I bury my hands deep in his silky soft hair, all over him. I'm just really in a selfish mood today…hmm.

He lifts me up so I'm on top of him, my weight stretched out across his taut body, and I raise my head in surprise at the new sensation, and how steadily he holds me so I don't fall off.

He gets this slightly dazed look when we kiss, and with his eyelids half-lowered and eyelashes casting long shadows across his cheekbones from the sunlight outside, I sigh dreamily, falling in love even harder…if that were possible.

"We can do this kind of thing, too, when we get back," He says softly, holding onto the smallest part of my waist tightly, adjusting himself so our hips are aligned. He bears my weight down onto him heavily and sighs out. "…I hope that reassures you, too, Kagome."

"True…it's…a lot more secluded in that time, anyways," I reply, giggling a little.

"You're saying it wasn't secluded enough in my room?" He mutters, looking offended all of a sudden.

"N-no, actually, and you _know _it wasn't!" I stutter, remembering how loud I was, blushing immensely. "You have a complex full of neighbors that heard us!"

He smirks a little at me, and I let out a sound of surprise as he reaches around and takes the ends of my hair, tugging at them, messing with me. "That just means I can make you moan even louder, when no one else is around for miles," He has such a sly look on his face and I'm amazed I'm not shocked by his innuendos anymore. Huh. Miroku sure had rubbed off on him more than I thought...I'm also kinda amazed, at liking it so much.

"You're so mean," I whine at him, as he brings those hands up to start groping my breasts kind of hard. Funny…how anger turned into arousal so easily. I try to ignore what he's doing to me, but it's difficult. "Ah...t-taking me away from Miroku and Sango like you did…"

"Oh? You expected either of them to cheer you up like this?" He grips harder and I cry out a little at how good it hurts. I should have expected this from how he held me down on the mattress earlier. Angry or not…it sure had put some ideas into his head. "Just think, if I'd have let Miroku snap that photo of Sango hugging you, more than _one_ of us'd be getting off to you—"

"Inuyasha!" I scold him. "Ew! You didn't need to make me think about that!"

He laughs as I try smothering his face with my hand, pushing it away. He leans up onto his elbows, smile fading as we gaze into each others eyes. "Then just think of me."

Our noses bump and my smile goes away too, but mostly just from being humbled by those words.

"Isn't it obvious I do all the time?"


	25. Chapter 25

He greets my stammered-out words with a grateful kiss, that heavenly mouth doing sinful things as he brings those hands up my thighs – I wonder what words his own tongue is tracing on mine. It feels so much like, _I love you. I need you. Right now._

Our first time…was mostly fun, in spite of all that ridiculous pain. That second drunken time was definitely what I would call just plain "fucking"…as much as I hate to call it that. But this? It feels like…we're actually…about to make love…

My face is beet-red at the thought of such a romantic thing, and I wonder if that sort of concept occurs to boys, too. I'd read my fair share of smutty girly manga, borrowed from Eri, and to make love was always the ultimate consummation of the relationship…my heart won't stop racing. Every single one of his touches on my body feels brand new.

_Ahh! Now I'm thinking even weirder things! _Inuyasha still has me situated on top of him, holding me up with one hand as we kiss, and bringing the other one lower, down to the waistband of my undies. His warm, roughly soft fingers start stroking me and I gasp out as I break away from his mouth, unable to keep looking into his eyes, embarrassed now.

He's already rock-hard, I can feel it through his pants. He brings up another hand to bury it in my hair, and I push down onto my knees on my mattress so I don't topple off of him. Now, there's no longer any gap between us, and as I slide down the front of his jeans for balance he lets out the slightest, yet most longing sigh.

"I hope…" I start to moan out, having a hard time talking as he plays with my clit teasingly. "Y-you make it up to me, for missing so much class…"

"You're still hung up on that?" He scoffs, reaching to slide his fingertips across my entry. I'm humiliated at him discovering how wet I am. Just moments ago we'd been arguing, and all intense and upset, and now…he has me in such a state.

I cover my mouth with my hands. I try my best to instead focus on the roughness of the denim, rubbing against my delicate inner-thigh skin.

_But, at least I'm not drunk like last time,_ I think. It's almost like he has me feeling inebriated, though, the way his hands on my body is making me lose it. I start to have a hard time sitting up and he brings his hands up to lift me and then put me on my back below him, noticing my struggle. I feel awfully disheveled as I look up into that overflowing honeyed gaze, letting out a little pant for breath at the relief of giving my shaky legs a break.

Inuyasha exhales, looking down at me so intently, I blush and turn my eyes to the side, unable to bear how lovely it is to feel wanted, this much.

He takes my chin to force me to glance back at him. I've never seen him make such an exquisite expression before. "You look so beautiful."

I gasp, wracking my brain to recall if he'd ever said that to me before. He is totally serious and the words echo loud between my ears, throbbing slowly like my heart is. _You look…so beautiful…_

"Do I really?" I plead, knowing I believe him, feeling more gorgeous than ever with his handsome body above mine, but I need to hear it even more. My eyes fill up with tears of joy.

"You do, really," He indulges me, bending down to kiss my neck tenderly, then fiercely. His tongue laps at my collarbone, and he starts to take off my clothes. "…my beautiful Kagome."

I shiver a bit; both at his touch, and the temperature, but he doesn't allow me to feel cold for longer than a millisecond. He brings his weight onto me, struggling to shove off his clothes too while still letting his hands wander all over me.

Ah…I can't stop thinking about his words, and now tears pour down the sides of my cheeks. He doesn't interrogate me, just stops his kisses to stare curiously.

"Inuyasha…! I love you so much, my…m-my heart's gonna burst," I sputter out like an idiot, bringing my arm up over my face to wipe away the tears, and he just grins at me.

"The feeling's mutual," He replies, looking amused with my excess of emotion, taking my arm off my face. "Even if you ever doubted yourself. My feelings won't ever change."

"I was so scared I was pushing you away," I sigh, while he caresses me, kissing down my stomach, lips trailing feather-lightly across my hipbones.

"Keh! You couldn't, no matter how hard you tried, Kagome."

I grin weakly, and he takes my cheeks into his hands, thumbs erasing the last tear marks remaining. His body slowly presses up against mine. "We good now? Are you cool?"

I roll my eyes. "That makes it sound, like, you just fought with a dude-friend or something…how un-sexy."

He rolls his eyes back at me, but laughs. "Haha, ok, ok. Let me rephrase…" He kisses my mouth intensely, pressing his hips aggressively into mine, making me breathe out hard with the friction of his velvety stiffness, skin on skin. "Are you ready…? I'm going to make love to you, Kagome." He pauses, smirking at my baffled face. "…Is that sexy enough?"

I open my mouth in surprise.

I'm smiling and blushing like a fool. _I really should give him more credit…_I start to give a little nod but he interrupts by ferociously kissing me again, and I run my fingers through his silky hair, reaching for his soft ears to cradle them in my hands, waiting for my heart to just finally explode and be done with, freeing my body from the most pleasurable ache of my life.

He positions himself at the front of me, the tip of his hardness seeming to quiver in anticipation, and he guides himself in with his large, muscly hand gripping onto the base of his manhood, letting go only as he pushes himself forward with his hands slamming down onto the mattress on either side of my arms. I start to let out a cry, forgetting about how freaking huge he is, but as his member fills me up I swallow back the sound, pressing my face into his chest to force myself to be quiet. Oh…it feels so insanely good. _God, I'm such a girly girl, whatnot with all the lovey-dovey BS being enough to replace any semblance of foreplay completely! Jeez…_

I bring my arms up around his neck and shoulders, hugging onto him for dear life. "Inuyasha…" I sob out in a throaty whisper, "I-Inuyasha…ah…"

He doesn't just jackhammer away…he uses his whole body, he carefully brings his hips up hard and slow so as to not make my bedframe shake. I hike my legs up over his ass, eagerly inviting him to go in even deeper. He bites back a moan at the intensified sensation, practically slipping in with no effort. The head of his cock slams up against my cervix and I want to scream.

I shut my eyes so hard they hurt, pressing my cheek against his rock-hard chest, drawing at least a little comfort from it.

"I-I…can't wait until we have a place to ourselves, to d-do this," I whisper harshly, digging my nails into his back. "I-I…still hate…staying quiet."

"I wonder if you'll be taking that back when the screaming doesn't stop," He mutters back, threatening me almost, with the aggressive promise of such great sex. I shudder at the thought, half excited, half horrified, already wondering how…or _if_…my body will hold up, knowing how he does.

He kisses my sweat-dampened temple, lips sloppily grazing the side of my face as he presses his own down into my chest. He goes on to tease my left nipple with his teeth and his tongue, squeezing the right hard between his fingertips. I gasp out, feeling like if he continues, I'm going to lose it.

I think he notices, and isn't ready to send me over the edge…just yet. He takes his hands away, using one to keep himself supported up, reaching the other up to softly draw his thumb across my lower lip. I feel like surprising him…and as his fingers move away I take two of them into my mouth.

He looks at me with shock, then satisfaction as I suck on his fingers hard, running my tongue across the textured skin of the tips, realizing I'd never gone down on him before…and how easy this seemed in comparison, anxious at the size difference alone, even with big hands like his. _I feel like I owe him for all the times he'd done so for me_. I try to give him a taste of my meager blowing skills, closing my eyes and getting really into the sucking and licking, pretending like it's the best Popsicle I've had in my life, like all the girls in the school hallways whisper you should do.

The moment I decide to let out a little moan for extra effect he rips his fingers out of my mouth, looking way overstimulated; his expression is excited and frazzled and I can't help but let out the smallest giggle. He brings his lips back onto mine and keeps thrusting into me, so hard, so deliciously slow.

God…my center feels like it's erupting with white hot liquid heat, each little drop of sweat down my back feels like lava. Having to hold back all these moans and cries…is exhausting.

"Fuuuck…" He gasps out quietly, arching his back to push himself into me extra-hard. I feel my legs kick out and I have to bite back a scream as he shoves his hand over my mouth so I can't make a sound. "You feel so _fucking _good…"

"A-ah," Is all I can mumble out through his heavy palm, as all the blood as obviously left my head, and me being coherent when he's got me like this sounds like a joke. "I-Inu…yasha…!"

He returns to that delightful movement after the brief pause, and almost without warning I start to come so hard, I swear, I see brand new colors. He's still keeping his hand over my mouth, shaking with how hard my muscles clench down onto him, and being smothered almost hurts, but the rest of me feels so good, I can't care. I tremble all over, breathing in and out through my nose intensely, and my eyes fill up with tears from the strain.

He removes his hand, shutting his eyes tight. "Fuck, I'm so sorry, Kagome," He starts—

"It's ok, I know," My head falls to the side; I'm still throbbing from the inside out, totally weak now. "Ah…I would have b-been…really loud, so honestly, I should say th-thanks…"

His eyes roll to the back of his head, and he punches the mattress next to my head. "_Ugh! _What I _wouldn't _fucking give!"

I can't help but laugh a little in my daze, reaching up to hold his cheeks. He'd been growling under his breath, but he stops and raises his eyebrows a little at me, ears perking up, and face turning gentle at my touch.

"It's ok," I say again, smiling so much my eyes shut. "It's ok, really, Inuyasha…however it goes, I don't mind, as long as I'm with you. Th-this way…I'm closer to you than ever…that's all…I can ask for…"

"Kagome…" He exhales, his eyelids lowering softly as though he wants to hold back all the apparent love behind them that threatens to come out. He wraps his arms around me, his strong chest held tight against mine. His body gives the lightest shudder, and his movements feel more romantic and well-intended than ever. I melt into him, and our physical connection seems to transcend beyond my bedroom walls – it feels like we've simply left my house, and entered heaven itself.

* * *

Later that afternoon, we sit on top of my roof, watching the sky slowly turn from blue to pink, a few hours before the sun should be setting. The brightly-colored clouds look like cotton candy, and I find myself wanting to satiate my sweet-tooth. Hm…as though I haven't had _enough_ sweetness for today. All those loving, sweet whispered nothings we'd shared…should have more than filled my appetite.

My whole body is sore. We'd been at it for at least an hour and a half, longer even, maybe. It sure felt like…quite a long time, almost like forever. I want to laugh about our first time and the duration of _that _in comparison_, _but I'm not _that _mean! Besides…I'm really happy, actually, in spite of the slight lingering ache. I'd never wanted him to let go, never wanted it to end.

Inuyasha won't keep his eyes off me. He'll glance over into the distance while tightening his grip on my hand, but mostly, his gaze is set on me, and shows no signs of disappearing.

After at least thirty minutes, I turn to look at him. "Hey, is something the matter?"

His eyes widen as I face him. I tilt my head to the side a little, curious what's up with that shocked, blushing expression.

"Keh! I guess I'm not allowed to admire how pretty my girlfriend is or anything," He sneers, snatching his hand from mine and turning away.

I just stare, dumbfounded. He's…he's _so…!_

"Idiot," I laugh at him, giving him a shove. He's surprised, and staggers back from it a little. "Stop acting so shy. You do that every once in a while, you know, like you're totally not an animal in bed or anything. It's hilarious."

He blushes even more intensely, getting all up in my face in defense. "Oy, FI-FIRST of all, w-who're you calling an _idiot?!"_

"Oh? You _know_, that guy, Inuyasha? With the adorable dog ears? Yeah, I was talking about him!"

He frowns at me and tries to make a mean face as I stick my tongue out at him, but I watch it crumble as he can't stay mad and he gives a laugh while leaning his forehead into my shoulder, then kissing the bare skin there as my sleeve falls down a little.

"…Hey. I had an idea, I just remembered. For something cool we can do."

I look at him inquisitively.

"But it's a surprise!" He takes my hand, interrupting me before I can even talk – pulling me up and gripping on tight so I don't slide down the side of the roof. He hoists me up onto his back and I grab on, overwhelmed with his sudden brand new plan.

"A surprise? Hey, give me a hint!" I beg, tugging at his ears as he leaps down the side of my house to where my family won't see us out the windows, and he takes the route well-known through the woods.

Ah…I love the feeling of the wind rushing past on my bare arms and legs.

"Then it wouldn't be a surprise, dummy," He teases, getting me back. I grin, excited to see what's on his mind.

We approach the border of the city, and he lets me down as we walk into it. He holds my hand, to my surprise (since he never does at school, but then again, he's never there, either), and I blush immensely at all the admiring or jealous looks we get. Yet again, I'd never noticed when he found his beanie and put it back on…he sure did a good job of hiding his ears to avoid questions, in this time. _Even if that gorgeous long platinum hair makes him stand out anyways._

He leads me into a fancy electronics store on the nice side of downtown. I keep looking around in shock, trying to grab his attention. "H-hey, Inuyasha, why here?!"

He makes a funny face at me, letting me know he won't answer. He talks to one of the sale representative people, putting his hands over my ears tightly.

No way…this looks, like…he's not going to…_is he…?!_

* * *

About an hour later we walk out of the store with two shiny new smartphones in hand.

"Are you for real?!" I screech, making several passerbys stare in alarm. I jump up and down, holding the phone tightly so I don't break it. "Inuyasha, ohmygod, I've always wanted a cell phone! Hey, where did you get the money?! How long have you had this idea?! I'M SO HAPPY!"

"Chill out!" He laughs at me, looking glad, but nowhere near as ecstatic as I am. "I dunno, I always…felt sorta jealous being around Miroku when he texts Sango all the time, so I thought…" He puts a hand behind his head bashfully. "…I'd get us some. I heard they had some deal or whatever for buying more than one, so he told me I should go for it."

"I love it," I hold it out in front of me, practically shaking in mirth. "Now I can text you goodnight, and stuff! And send you pictures of things I make! And, and-!"

I shut myself up as I see he's holding his own out in front of us, to take a photo. He catches me in the picture grinning like a fool.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you were gonna take a photo, I coulda tried to make a cuter face," I pout at him, grabbing the phone so I can look at it. _Aw…his expression is so happily serene…while I look like an over-excited freak…_

"Shut up, your face is always cute," He mutters at me, snatching his phone back. "As for the money…well, I saved up, so don't worry about it," He goes on, still kind of laughing at how overjoyed I'm acting.

I blush, flattered at his compliment. "Send me that photo so I can make it my wallpaper," I ask him.

"Alright, but I beat you to it," He smirks, showing me he's set it as his already.

_Aww…my heart is going to explode! This is what I've always dreamed of!_

* * *

_(hey guys! yeah, i know, lotsa cute fluffy stuff in this chapter, haha. i know what general direction this is story heading in as i [very] slowly wrap it up, but if there's anything you've been dying to see happen, let me know in a review and maybe it'll make an appearance ;) xx)_


	26. Chapter 26

The next day at school, Sango has already heard about Inuyasha's gift to me before I can even show it to her! She rushes up to me in the halls, as I've gotten there a little bit early before our homeroom class begins.

"I looove how he spoils you," She teases me, as she takes the phone out of my hands and puts her number in it. I already feel naked for the few seconds it's not in my possession. "You two should get matching charms or something!"

I blush fervently. "Ah! But that's what they do in anime, Sango," I laugh at her.

"As though our circumstances aren't anime-like enough," She rolls her eyes. I start to wonder what's up with her attitude in spite of how I want to reply, "touché", but when I see what catches her eyes, my jaw drops, and I know why.

Kikyou.

She breezes by, passing through people like the lovely ethereal ghost she is. I cover up my mouth, feeling a chill overcome my frozen legs. She hasn't showed up at school…since it began. And even then, it was only because of her last few ties to Inuyasha, in this world…

_Inuyasha…! _I glance around wildly, like I expect him to show up, but he rarely, if ever, comes to school anymore. I doubt he knows about this, or even suspects it.

_Is this her sign to me?! _I wonder desperately, wishing I could chase after her, but I already seemed crazy enough to everyone else who goes here; the last thing I need to salvage my damaged reputation is to appear like I was lame enough to have an imaginary friend – much less be running after said friend.

Sango looks at me cuttingly, through her side-eyes. "Kagome?" She asks, sorta blankly.

"H-hey, what's the matter?" I ask her, overcome with sickening anxiety about how sudden this is. My new phone in my hands feels cold.

She sighs out. "Nothing," and I remember about that fight all my friends had had when trying to cross over the well failed.

_No! _I'm screaming, in my thoughts, suddenly realizing the dire consequences of our situation. _This is Naraku's intention. If Kikyou made him fail at tearing us apart in my time, he'll try to succeed in making us not want to go back in the first place, if more time keeps passing…!_

Sango is doubting herself as much as I had been! Inuyasha had reassured my faith, yet…yet!

This is an emergency. I stare after Kikyou's fading away form. She hadn't even made eye contact with me. I remember the phone, his gift to me in my hands – my new lifeline. I open up my message thread with him.

_"__Inuyasha! There's a crisis at school! Please…come during lunch break. It involves all of us."_

I hit send and exhale nervously, looking up at Sango as she also watches Kikyou disappear. "Well, let's go to class?" She asks, like it hadn't happened.

I blink, trying to situate myself back in reality, sliding my phone into my bag. "Yeah," I reply quietly, following her into homeroom, dissociating more than ever.

* * *

When the lunch bell rings, Sango sneaks Miroku and I up to the rooftop in her usual secretive manner. When we get there, Inuyasha is already waiting, to my relief. He sits there at the end, near the fence, in his usual position, with his knees up, arms hanging loosely over them.

His stance is pretty casual, but the look on his face is anything but.

"You summoned me?" He asks, kinda sarcastically. I frown. He is the best boyfriend ever in most ways, but still, he has a way of putting up a front whenever anyone else is around, and it drives me crazy!

"Yes, your majesty," I sneer back at him. "A certain _ex _of _someone _I know was just spotted in the hallways."

He furrows his brows. "Huh? Ex? What's she talkin' about?" He asks the two behind me.

"_You,_" Sango mutters at him, flipping her hair. Miroku sighs, looking bummed out, and Inuyasha develops the expression of a scolded dog.

"H-hey, what's up with this?!" He yells. "Accusing me already?!"

God, what wouldn't I give to sit him.

"No," I explain, biting back the urge to yell, and choosing to be patient. "Sango and I saw Kikyou this morning, and I think, maybe, it's…her sign."

He doesn't reply, but looks like he's thinking hard. I trust him deeply to know it's not about her, but my anxiety about encountering her after that awful dream I'd had several nights ago is making me feel like a bitch anyways. "There's a problem," I hiss to him under my breath, so the other two don't hear. "…I get this feeling…Sango and Miroku…don't want to go back anymore…"

He looks shocked. "For real?!"

"What else could you guys have been fighting about, that day I messed up in trying to get us back to your time?" I sigh sadly, unable to keep being mad anymore.

I hit the nail right on the head, almost without meaning to – since it was a guess, due to me not being there – and his surprised look goes away. "Ok…that part is true, but maybe they're just uncertain," He tries to give them the benefit of the doubt.

"That's the problem," I mutter. "The more time keeps passing, the more comfortable everyone grows with staying! I mean, we haven't even heard from your brother, in like, a month, for all we know he's moved to a different country by now! Just look at us and how accustomed we've all become, Inuyasha!"

He gets up, intensely serious now, brushing past me to get all up in Miroku's face. "Yo. You haven't forgotten about our ultimate end-goal here, right?" He snarls, and I press my palm to my face at his complete and utter lack of tact.

"What?! No," The monk replies through a mouthful of food.

Inuyasha just glares at him for a moment, waiting for him to swallow…and when he does, he grabs the front of his shirt and starts shaking him violently. "You lying sonuva bitch!"

"Hey, cut it out!" Sango shouts, trying to pull the angered _hanyou _off of her boyfriend.

I watch as they all start arguing, and I feel the urge to cry creep up on me, and I hate this scene more than anything.

"Will you all STOP! This is EXACTLY what Naraku WANTS!" I scream at them at the top of my lungs, barely able to hold the tears back. They whip their heads around in shock, and I slap my hands over my mouth as my voice echoes. Oh, God, I hope I haven't blown our cover to any administrators and ruined our rooftop lunches forever.

Inuyasha lets go of Miroku, but not without a light shove. They all exhale, looking exhausted.

"Kagome is right," Miroku dusts off the fabric of his tee. "If we all fight and get skeptical of one another's true intentions, we'll just be playing into his game."

Sango suddenly bursts into tears, and the guys look freaked out. I rush over to her, surprised that she, as the stronger of the two of us, beat me to the crying.

"I don't want to risk Kohaku's life all over again," She sobs out, clutching her face hard as each whimper wracks her back and shoulders. I watch a shadow cross Miroku's face, and he takes her from me before I can even object.

"Well, if Kagome received the sign, we need to try crossing over once more," Inuyasha states officiously, randomly appearing stressed out. Why is _he _the one looking stressed! Has he forgotten this is all on me?! That getting back to his time, along with dealing with the issue of the split jewels is all _my _responsibility?!

"Naraku is betting on all of our insecurities," I say finally, shaking with frustration. "He trusts that we'll lose faith, that we'll grow too comfortable in this world where there are no demons, no real threats to our lives."

Inuyasha stares at me, and I can feel him wondering about Kikyou's words to me, too, along the same lines.

Then I gasp. Yet another realization. God…I'm getting quite tired of these.

They all look at me curiously now, Sango wiping tears off her face, Miroku looking concerned…but nowhere near as much as Inuyasha.

"I think I get it," I whisper out. "If we all go there, Kikyou will disappear for good. She…she's been waiting for us to figure out that that can't happen as long as the jewel is separated…but…"

"But?" Miroku asks, insisting me with his eyes to continue.

"…that's it. I'm the only one who has their powers, anyway. Kikyou has been needing me to figure out that…I have to go over there alone."

Inuyasha inhales sharply, then comes up to me and grabs my arms.

"No, that's not an option," He tells me gruffly, refusing to let go, as if I'm going to just run off and go to the well immediately.

"But that's how it is," I complain back, trying to make him let go…his grip is really tight, and it kind of hurts. "I have to reunite the jewels _with _her. I don't know why she never said so, but now I see that that's the case," I cry out as he just tightens his grip on me more.

"Going there alone is just putting yourself in unnecessary danger!" Inuyasha snaps at me, looking angry and horrified. "Kagome, I'm not allowing you to put your life at risk!"

"Since when did I need your permission for what to do with MY life!" I screech, desperate, and scared beyond belief.

"Since I decided it was mine," He growls ferociously, and my jaw hits the floor.

I shut up completely at his words, and he doesn't get embarrassed or try to take them back – he just stares intensely into my eyes, fiercely willing me to accept that he means it. In every problematic and romantically significant way…he's _for real_.

He still hasn't let go of my arms, and his nails are digging into my skin, and I choke back tears as I fight to look away from him, but I can't.

From the side, I catch Miroku and Sango whispering to each other.

"I'm pretty sure that's not how he should propose to her," He mutters.

"Well, I guess you can't blame him for knowing a better way, with that attitude," She replies. "At least he did it."

"Y-you guys, that's not a proposal," I sob out, staring into that neverending amber gaze. "…is it?" I mewl out, unsure if I even _want _it to have been.

"Keh. Call it whatever you want, but let it make it clear to you, Kagome. No matter _what_ century we're in. No matter how much time goes by, you'll always be _mine. _Your life. It's my call."

* * *

_(eeee! he went there! anyways, short chapter, yes, since the last one was way over my usual length! things are heating up for realsies! hope ya'll are having fun and hanging in there, stay tuned xx)_


	27. Chapter 27

_(YASSSSS! i finally got my laptop back and fixed! i'm so happy to be working on this again. i apologize for the long wait. enjoy! xx)_

* * *

I stare into Inuyasha's face, expecting it to contort into his usual uproarious laughter at his own dumb kind of jokes. But his eyes do not waver, his mouth is fixed in a serious frown, intending every letter of that weighty sentence. He…he isn't even blushing, he means it so much…

"I can't tell if that was romantic or not," Sango mutters to Miroku.

"Shockingly…even as the expert at romance, neither can I," He replies.

She just glares at him. "Ex_-_pert? Huh. Debatable. But that's _their_ problem, not ours…"

"I-Inuyasha," I become a blubbering mess, reaching for his arms while simultaneously pulling away. I imagine his cool stance is missing his sword, looking all valiant like he does.

"You're not going over there alone," He snarls, sidelining the topic.

My jaw drops. I don't know if I should be angry about his forceful possessiveness, or if I should be happy about the fact he's basically saying I'm his for the rest of my life. He's…gotten _so_ bold, here in this world and modern century of mine.

_But that's too bad, _I think in frustration. He can stubbornly ignore the fact as much as he'd like to, but that didn't undo any of the truth that fixing our situation now _required _my solitary efforts. _Why am I the only one who realizes that, and accepts it?!_

In a way…he's trying to make sure I'm ok…but I suppose I'm used to him getting exasperated with my complaining and generally just letting me doing whatever I wanted…but then again, back in his time, he always threw a fit when I tried to come back home, so why am I surprised now that it's in reverse?

My eyes fill up with tears. I still haven't said anything but his name after his declaration, and our friends are staring at me expectantly.

"I'll be right back," I sputter, letting go of my hold on his shirt sleeves, wiping my eyes with my arm as I run off towards the door to head back into the school building.

"Kagome-chan," Sango calls, but doesn't chase me. I look over my shoulder for a split-second. Inuyasha doesn't pursue me either, instead, he stands his ground and just continues letting those eyes bear down into my soul so powerfully, my knees nearly give way under me. By now, I know exactly what that look means.

I rush back indoors, feeling lightheaded and dizzy and almost kind of sick. I jump when I hear footsteps approaching me.

"Ki-Kikyou," I gasp, recognizing her. Her form is unstable seeming…like, she stands up alright, but at her edges, her body just…fades.

"This is it, Kagome," She says in her soft voice, looking…sad.

_Does she know about Inuyasha? About what he said to me? _I think miserably, somehow guessing she knew anyway without having had to eavesdrop. Clearly…if her connection to Inuyasha was the only thing that kept her physical form intact, his lack of investment in her resulted in her form's near disappearance. If this is just her soul…just like me…_he is all she has._

Except he was pretty much what brought me back to life. I never knew the presence or absence of love could do that. I never knew that was also what would kill Kikyou.

The tears that had been collecting at the corners of my eyes start spilling out uncontrollably. I reach out for her and grab her wrist, feeling as shocked as she looks when my hand doesn't just fly through thin air, but holds onto something solid.

"I need your help," I exhale.

* * *

For the next few weeks, Inuyasha refuses to leave me alone, and it's obvious he suspects I'll sneak out to the well when he's not looking. What's worse is that my family is totally not tired of him at all, like I've gotten!

He doesn't leave until I fall asleep, but I know he's out in the _goshinboku _or on my rooftop or something when I'm awake. He walks into my room like he owns the place, opens and closes my windows and door so freely I could just scream.

I…have actually been able to catch up on my schoolwork, thanks to all his policing. How wrong was it, for that to _feel _wrong!

I text Sango nonstop about it, thanking God he at least isn't the type to snoop through my messages. _"Inuyasha literally WON'T leave my house! Can you and Miroku kidnap him for me, or something?!"_

_"__We can try!"_

They finally attempt to after the third week, finally realizing I'm not kidding. I eagerly stand behind him at my front door after its bell rings and he opens it, urging them on with my hopeful, glittering eyes.

"So we hear you're holding a hostage," Sango tells him with a sigh, not even bothering with a greeting.

"If you're going to make her your wife, you must give her her space at least sometimes!" Miroku scolds him, _tsk_ing and putting a finger up in Inuyasha's face. "You won't even buy her a ring, but treat her like this?"

"Geh!" He blushes profusely, smacking the monk's hand away. "What would you know, you player motherfu-?!"

"Inuyasha, he's right!" I finally speak up, interrupting him and shouting as loud as I possibly can to embarrass him in front of my family. "If you won't buy me a ring, you have _no right to control_ _my life!"_

His eyes go huge as he takes in all the threats, and I wonder if he's taking them seriously. Then, he glances at me. "I _can't_ let you cross the well," He says, in a surprisingly defeated tone.

"Oh? So that's what this was about," Sango looks ready to take him on now, as though she'd stop him with her life to let me go of my own accord. My heart is racing uncontrollably. Even if I hated the ulterior motive behind his refusal to leave me alone…how would I feel if he actually _did _just let me go, knowing Naraku was waiting on the other side?

He's looking at me now like he knows exactly what's on my mind. But…he doesn't know about my asking Kikyou for help…and I wonder how that's going to go down.

"Inuyasha…" Miroku starts again, clearing his throat. "You can make…like…_literal _diamonds with your _kongou souha, _can't you?"

Inuyasha makes a face at him like that's the dumbest question he's ever heard, then seems to get it, and his face turns red as his ears flatten against his head. "With what sword, dumbass?" He sneers back, avoiding the intent.

"Well, besides, he should work hard to actually _buy _Kagome-chan a _real _diamond with a band attached to it, you cheapskate," Sango glares at her man, probably assuming he'd find some illegitimate way to get her a ring…the way he suggested to mine.

Miroku just smirks, but in a sheepish way. Oh, he's so busted.

"Well, I've made up my mind," Inuyasha huffs, turning away from me now. "I promised to protect you and all that, and this is falls under what I said. If you don't like it, too bad."

I sigh, beyond exhausted. He's not the type to go back on his word, nor is he the type to quit being stubborn for any reason. I fight to make eye contact with him, but he's forcefully keeping his gaze averted from mine.

"I guess you're just like everyone else then," I feel tears creep up on me as I try to talk to him. His ears flicker at the change in my tone. "To go this far to stop me…you don't _really _want to go back either, do you, Inuyasha?"

He whirls around, his face contorted with shock and distress as he tries to reach for me, but I run away from him back into the house, feeling my heart get destroyed with guilt over my own words. _Did I really mean that? Was I just trying to manipulate him? Or, deep down, was I right…?_

* * *

That evening, I'm browsing through endless cat videos on the phone Inuyasha has given me, lying in bed and facing my wall. He's sitting on the floor beside my mattress, and I can sense how agitated he is that I haven't paid attention to him since that incident earlier this afternoon.

"Sango and Miroku are really pissed at me, you know," He starts after several hours of silence, trying to sound apologetic, I think. "…you're not the only one…"

I can tell the meowing sounds are irritating him too, and normally I'd laugh, but it's not funny.

"Just so we're clear, I do want to return," He goes on. "Kagome. I really fucking do. But…"

"Could you hand me my earphones? They're on my nightstand," I cut him off, still refusing to look at him.

"Kagome!" He shouts at me, getting up to slam his hands down on my bed. I feel like I want to cry again. _I absolutely HATED when things were like this between us!_ But what else could I do, if he didn't trust me enough to do the _one _thing I had to do, alone? Why couldn't he acknowledge how difficult it was for me to even want to do it by myself in the first place?!

I shut my eyes tightly, but they shoot open when I feel my bed trembling from where his hands rest on it. I lift my head up to finally look at him, and when I do, I'm breathless – his eyes are sparkling with the first traces of…tears…?!

"It's like you think this is fucking easy for me or something," He snarls, and with each following word the air gets knocked out of my lungs even harder. "I'd give _anything _to be able to go back to my time with you without any consequence. But if there's a chance you'll get hurt, or even _killed_ because I can't _be_ there, then I'd fucking rather live forever in this boring ass world where I can at least be a hundred percent certain you're _safe!"_

I stare at him, feeling like my soul has shattered. My mouth gapes open, but no words come out. I imagine something happening to me on the other side of the well, and Inuyasha bitterly living out the rest of his long lifespan in this "boring ass" world all by himself, and I think I'd have normally found that image sort of amusing – especially considering where he came from – but in reality, I end up ugly-crying _so_ hard.

I slap my hands onto my face, trying to muffle the sobs coming out that are so loud I feel like I'm deafening myself. Yet again..._I'd been so selfish._

"H-hey," He mutters over me, reaching for my wrists and pulling me closer to him, letting me cry into his shirt. "Stop crying, I know what you meant," He insists, shaking me a little, but I just cry louder – not having any of it. "Stop! If you cry this loud while I'm in here your family is going to think I did something to you, for fuck's sake!"

I guess he's right…I try to control the volume of my blubbering as best as I can. He pets my shoulders, sighing heavily.

"I'm so sorry," I sputter. "I'm _so—_"

"Kagome, It's fine," He interrupts me, stroking me harder to try and soothe me. "Maybe…I was being kind of an asshole too."

_Too? _I wonder, thinking that was a little bit of an understatement, but I say nothing since I'm just as in the wrong as he was. I suddenly realize what he means in that moment, and how lonely I'd been feeling in spite of his refusal to leave me alone – this whole time since the incident on the rooftop at school, when he declared he wouldn't let me cross to the other time, he'd barely even touched me, or seemed interested in anything to do with me other than making sure I didn't leave his watchful sight…

To finally feel his arms around me again after nearly three weeks of nothing was nerve-wracking and comforting all at once. I notice my sobs drifting away into sighs, and he brings me up closer to him, but I flinch at the cold feeling of his shirt, noticing I'd soaked its fabric all the way through with my tears.

"My bad…" I exhale anxiously, gesturing to it. His ears flicker up, then swivel back downwards as he seems to notice it too. He just takes it off, tossing it to my floor, staring at me and blushing like that's his way of forgiving me.

My face turns red too at the sight of his sculpted, bare torso, and we look at each other for a while like bashful virgins. I fight off any temptations I feel at getting to be this close to his half-naked figure as he pulls me back into that same tender embrace from earlier, and for the remainder of the evening and long after the sun sets, we lay there on my bed, listening to our hearts race and echo off my walls in utter silence.


	28. Chapter 28

When I open my eyes again, I'm surprised at how late it's surely become by now, and all the little sounds in my house have entirely silenced…the only thing I hear is soft breathing that isn't mine, and I feel my heart lurch as I realize Inuyasha is asleep beside me. I find myself wondering why I can't get used to that, even after all this time. My curtains are still open from the day, pouring in the silvery light of the moon outside, helping my eyes to adjust.

I exhale carefully, propping my arms up to peer over his figure, trying to not awaken him. _Ah…it's past 2AM! That's so much later than I'd thought…!_

I lay back down, staring at his peaceful expression. Since the day Kikyou had given me her sign…I don't think he'd slept, since he was too busy making sure I never acted on it by myself. I feel a pang of guilt at the thought of getting up and making my move now, the one time his guard is down…but was I even capable of something like that? Pff, he'd know. He'd wake up immediately, and stop me.

Yet, how could I do that to him…after the time we'd just spent before falling asleep, after those words he'd shared with me? After everything he admitted…after shedding those tears…he'd never held me as hard, as tightly in his arms in those moments after, than he ever had before…

I roll over slightly to stare at my ceiling, watching it blur into nothing in front of my dazed eyes, unable to breathe, my chest feels so tight. A hot tear slips down my cheek, startling me, and I think I understand.

Inuyasha isn't going to live in this world of mine. He _can't. _Modernized or not, this…this isn't where we belong…wasn't that why I fell into the well and crossed over to his time in the first place? My fate…my fate lies over there! Not _here!_

I sit up, rubbing my arm across my face, trying my best to not let him catch onto even the tiniest hint at my withheld crying sounds. I suppress my trembling with all my might, using all the strength I've got reserved in my tiny body, wondering how I'll even get up without waking him in the first place…he's such an incredibly light sleeper…

I try to not gasp as I feel him suddenly reach up and pull me into his arms, forcibly burying my face into his chest.

"Don't go," He murmurs sleepily, not even opening his eyes, sounding so vulnerable and so…_so…_

My eyes threaten to fill up with tears again. "Inuyasha," Is all I can manage to whisper out, feeling like he's choking me – or like my own conflicting emotions are what's caught in my throat…

"I-I…I was just going to the bathroom…" I lie, as he lets me go, still clearly not awake…and a little part of me, no, my entire soul wishes he hadn't believed me. _I hate this. Oh, God, do I hate this. I hate every second that has passed since I knew I had to make this decision._

I get up and crawl out of the bed, throwing on a cardigan that had been draped over my desk chair, freezing now that we're not sharing the same blanket anymore. I grab the bow and quiver of arrows that was leaning against my wall, hiking them over my shoulder and drowning out their noise with the creaking sound of opening the bedroom door. I try to keep my mind absolutely blank as I sneak down the stairs, not thinking of my destiny up until this point. Not thinking of how hurt he's going to be. Selfishly…forcing my heart to think of nothing but myself and my upcoming mission…

_A mission? _Is that what I'm going to call it? My impending betrayal is a better suited term. But I'd long accepted…I _had _to do this alone, or else the whole plan to get back would fail. Kikyou needed me to understand that a long time ago. Back when Inuyasha and I crossed the well for the first time since this whole mess happened.

I hold the old scar beneath the right side of my ribcage, where the _shikon no tama _had been torn out of me in the first place. It seems to throb all of a sudden, even so long after it's healed…I wince and try to ignore its ominous aching as I slide on my loafers by the door, successfully exiting my house without my guardian for the first time in nearly a month. I shiver, only wearing this thin sweater, and a gauzy shirt-dress beneath it.

I feel a heavy sadness nearly break my bones as I see Kikyou is right outside the enclosed well, waiting for me. Just like before, she seems like her physical figure is just falling apart at the seams…fading into nothing; truly an apparition on the verge of leaving this world.

"Kikyou…" I greet her carefully, my voice betraying how I'm fighting the urge to cry. "…How is it that you're going to help me?"

She raises her eyebrows a little, making painstakingly calm eye contact for a while, then she looks right past my head, noticing something before I do. I hear my window slide open hard – it's so incredibly loud in this humming silence of the middle of the night, almost like an explosion – and my heart collapses with anxiety.

"Kagome!" I hear Inuyasha's voice utter furiously.

I stare over my shoulder in panic as he leaps down out of my bedroom and races over here, nearly tackling me within seconds. I try to wrestle him off, but I'm far too weak to fight an enraged half-demon, especially with my guilt of getting caught. He shoves my back against the wooden walls of the shrine, knocking half the air out of me, and he ignores the little choking cry I let out at the impact.

"What the fuck is this?" He seethes, his long fingernails digging into my skin. I cry out, but he just holds on harder. "Tell me what the FUCK is going on! I thought we understood! I thought you were on the same page as me!" He grabs my quiver off my back and slams it down onto the ground, nearly in the same moment he snatches the bow out of my hands. He stares at it for a moment, then finally acknowledges Kikyou, right beside me now. He stares at her…nowhere near akin to how one would look at a former lover. He looks at her, full of disgust. He tosses it to her, and she catches it, but falters a little with its weight, and his forcefulness.

I cry silently from how rough he is with me, watching him glare at her fiercely for a very long time, not saying a word. Kikyou just gazes back serenely, but in his eyes, I know she is not blameless.

"Did you set Kagome up for this?" Is the first thing he finally asks, practically spitting fire.

She doesn't reply. I am shocked she chooses to cover for me.

"How are you involved?" He insists, still not letting go of my wrists, but turning to face her a bit more. Has he forgotten about her sign, and that _whole _ordeal?! Has he forgotten my life is the only one not bound to hers, and that's why no one else can help me? I am too ashamed to keep watching, but I can't tear my eyes away.

He had fallen in love with me so deeply since we reunited, he didn't even think Kikyou had anything to do with us returning to his time anymore…I wish I knew why that hurt _my _feelings so bad, when Kikyou was the one being denied – not me…

I gasp as she reaches for his arms, trying to gently pull him off of me. I see his face go from enraged to whitewashed with horror, because her hands hold onto him firmly – but when he snatches his arm away, it seems to just pass through her, like thin air. My memory flashes back to when I grabbed her wrist in the hallway at school, expecting the same thing to happen, but instead, I had truly held on to something solid…

_What did this mean?_

Her normally neutral expression contorts with the pain of rejection. I swear, I see her silhouette flicker. I remember that her love for him is the only thing keeping her soul in this world in the first place…and I cry harder, unable to keep watching this scene unfold.

"Inuyasha, please," I sob, crying so hard I can't even see. "Please…I didn't want to do this…I didn't want to go behind your back, but you know, in some ways, you forced me to," I buckle to my knees on the ground, losing all the strength in my body for how insanely disgusted with myself I feel.

"You cried the same way earlier when I said almost the same thing to you," He snarls at me, but he sounds infinitely times more hurt than angry. He shakes me in desperation, and I just cry harder. "_Kagome!"_

"Inuyasha," Kikyou interrupts unexpectedly, making us both go quiet. "You are being abhorrently selfish. Do you not realize this?"

"It's selfish to expect Kagome to go kill Naraku all on her own," He snaps back, and I'm shocked he can be so cold to her.

"Who said she was alone?" Kikyou replies, suddenly losing that stern edge, her tone turning soft once more. Is that on my behalf…or his?

He seems stunned, his quick tongue robbed of him. I think he realizes now, if he keeps being so hateful towards her she really might disappear for good, along with the jewel she holds; and if that happened, we were stuck here forever…

His lip curls in aversion and he finally lets go of me. I bring my arms up to hug myself, incapable of being upset for what I did to him. I'd deserved this.

"I was going to do it for you, Inuyasha," I whisper sadly. "For you and I…"

He gets up and takes a few steps away, grasping onto his face in frustration. He shakes with the effort of controlling himself, and then comes back over to kneel in front of me with a fierce sigh. "I get that," He mutters. "But you can do whatever you'd like to try and shake me off of you, it won't work. I told you that already."

"But don't you remember what Kikyou said? If anyone besides me goes over to the other world before Naraku's jewel is destroyed, she'll…_she'll…_"

His ears flatten and he stares at her from the corners of his eyes. They flash amber in the dark, and I wonder what's going through his head.

"I know," He says, suddenly sounding very sorrowful.

So he's accepted her life will essentially end anyways – how unlike the old days. I'm out of tears at this point, but I feel so awful that it has to be this way.

"I died the day I kept all of you alive, it appears you've forgotten," Kikyou talks again, now appearing to be somewhat irritated with the two of us. "I chose to give you all my light to defeat Naraku in my stead. But Inuyasha, if Kagome is truly myself reincarnated, then—"

"You're not taking her with you," He growls. "That's like asking her to commit suicide! So who's _really _the selfish one?!"

Kikyou seems taken aback…I suppose she'd never thought of it that way.

"We are _all_ selfish, Inuyasha," She finally responds, the chilled-over fire in her voice quite a surprise. "It is selfish of me to take Kagome from you, and it is selfish of you to stop her from enacting her own free will. It is selfish of Kagome to act alone without heeding your requests, yet most of all, we are _all _indeed selfish, for thinking this can all go exactly according to how we'd like it to."

Inuyasha seems to have been shut up, and I can tell he resents it horribly. Yet he does not fight back, recognizing everyone's human error is shared equally among us.

"Kagome and I's combined spiritual power is what is necessary to defeat Naraku," Kikyou continues softly, turning away. "I have thought it through and through. The chances of us two alone succeeding are very high. And if there is interference…and the rest of my hours are cut short…we _will_ fail."

He back away momentarily. I wonder what he is going to do – his countenance is that of a cornered predator, ready to lash out. Would he fight? Would he flee? Knowing Inuyasha…he'd…-

"Well we'll have to work within those limits, then," He snarls, and now Kikyou is the one looking cornered. I sigh, staring at the ground. How predictable, really.

He forces open the door to the well, and stares at us expectantly as we just look on in disbelief. "Well? Are you two coming or what? It's not like ya'll were just saying we can't kick Naraku's ass without the two of you."

Kikyou and I exchange a _look, _and I wonder now if she is convinced anymore he's changed in any way since the original incident passed. I almost want to laugh at the idea we are sharing a moment over our exasperation with him. Who'd have thought.

We tentatively follow him, and jump into the well with ease.

The moment we materialize on the other side, Kikyou starts to cough, sounding really sick. _She really wasn't kidding, _I think, sadly. Inuyasha and I exchange a concerned glance, briefly forgetting our fight, and I help her stand up. He hoists the both of us back onto his shoulders and leaps out, immediately covering his face with his arm, since the air is seeping with miasma and evil intentions.

"We've barely made it in time," Kikyou manages to gasp out. "His way of meddling with your true feelings has worked, and made him…stronger."

"Give me your jewel," I plead her, realizing with those words, we needed to hurry. All of our self-doubt and hesitation has led to this, and it was on _me _to fix it.

She stares into my eyes with very mixed emotions, starting to reach for where it is underneath her shirt, but wavers.

"It's ok that you don't want to let go yet," I tell her, having to raise my voice over the sound of the wind starting to howl. Her eyes widen as she takes in my words, like no one had ever given her permission to feel this way before, and yet again, how ironic it is from me. The wind picks up even faster, and I scream in surprise as I hear the splintering, jarring sound of wood crashing and burning. To our left, the bone-eater's well disintegrates with an explosive _boom, _sending out tiny splinters everywhere. Inuyasha barely manages to cover us…lucky him, his skin is thick enough to not really be bothered. One of the larger splinters grazes my cheek, and I wince, holding a hand to it.

"You dare return, after you all were so…graciously, allowed to live?" Our ears perk up upon hearing that disgusting, demonic voice from not too far off.

"Naraku…!" Inuyasha shouts furiously. He reaches for where his _tetsusaiga _would be, then bites his lip with a soft "damn it" when he realizes it's still missing.

"Kagome…" Kikyou whispers out hoarsely. I look down to where she's crouched on one knee, and I feel my heart flood with fear as I realize her eyes are filled with tears, yet she's not letting herself cry. "Come down here. For…a moment."

I bend down willingly, nodding for her to go on.

"Listen carefully. I'll give you my jewel…but therein is a problem to our plan. It will…" She coughs, and panic overwhelms me when I see she's coughed up a tinge of blood into the grass. "…all sort itself out...though."

"Tell me what I have to do," I whisper to her encouragingly, reaching out to wipe away a little drop of her blood off her lip with my thumb. I owe her my life. Seeing her in such a state now had me feeling so sorry, I couldn't resist giving her all my gentleness. Inuyasha was staring at us with such strong emotion, I couldn't even begin to decipher what he was possibly feeling, seeing us like this.

"…You're going to have to die, Kagome."

"WHAT?!" Inuyasha screams, and Naraku, not too far off, is laughing.

"My jewel…and the last of my light…will restore you, so do not worry. Naraku has placed a curse…on this jewel, sure…yet so have I. It cannot fail. It…will not."

"How can we be so sure of that if we all died once already?!" Inuyasha kept shouting his head off, looking like he was going to absolutely lose his mind. It seems like he can barely restrain himself from attacking her, with his bared fangs and claws and whatnot…

Kikyou starts to reply, but it's obviously hard. "You have to…"

"—Believe me," I finish for her. He stares back at me like I'm a total lunatic.

"You are NOT dying today, or any time soon," He practically roars. "Why do you think I fought so hard to keep you away anyway, if this is where we're at now?!"

"We're PAST that point now, Inuyasha, can't you see?!" I screech back at him, standing back up with all the power in my legs, getting all in his face. "Kikyou managed to send her literal SPIRIT over here even when she's already dead, so if I die in exchange for her and she promises it's going to be ok, what else can we trust if we want to go back to our homes?!"

The air feels like a tornado on fire now, it's so hard to breathe. Our negative, conflicted emotions clashing with one another were only adding fuel to the flames.

To my horror, Inuyasha is now on the verge of tears, too. The sky turns from purple to reddened-black. "I can't lose you, Kagome," He is shouting, grabbing my shoulders and shaking me.

"You won't," I yell back, over the howling wind. I feel a tear fall down my own cheek, terrified, yet accepting my fate anyway. "I promise."

I glance down at Kikyou, who looks like she may have _been _crying, but has been out of tears for centuries. She has a sad frown on her face as she hands me her jewel – the "fake" one; the offshoot of the original. It burns in my palms, and I cry out somewhat at the scalding sensation of it.

"At least say goodbye to her," I plead with him, seeing the ever-painful appearance on her face grow stronger. "She saved our lives. I'll be back. But she won't."

I think I know somewhere in my heart, if Inuyasha doesn't acknowledge her, her spell won't work. Because her love for him was all that kept her spirit going in the first place. From the very first day I'd encountered her in the hallways, to the time everyone else could pass through her like a ghost, yet I was able to touch her solid form – I just knew. I just knew it couldn't be any other way. And it makes sense…

I think we all knew, and were too scared to say it.

He lets go of me, looking inches within his life now. A shadow crosses over his features and he seems to fall to his haunches, leaning before her.

"Kikyou…" is all he manages to say, having not spoken to her in so long.

She looks at him with a cold fire in her gaze – a burning, painful love that's hurting her so much, it's nearly killing her.

_Her soul needs to find peace, _I think sadly, hoping he can find the right words. The jewel in my hand feels like it keeps growing hotter, and I know we are running ever-short on time with each second passing.

To our surprise, she collapses in his arms, sobbing.

"This is all I can give you," She manages to gasp out, seeming very ill now. "Your friends and you will live on…"

"I don't think I could ask for more, then," He says, embracing her hard. I start to cry for real now. This was so, _so _sad. "…Kikyou…you've done more than enough for me…"

"Have I?" She whispers out.

His pain-filled expression contorts even more. "Yes," He says, and kisses her forehead. "I know you've felt all along your sacrifice was in vain. But it's not. I can keep your love alive forever, thanks to what you've done."

A final tear falls from her eyes and she has the slightest semblance of a smile on her beautiful face, and then her form vanishes.

The jewel grows even hotter, but I can hardly notice it for how hard I'm crying over Kikyou being gone so suddenly now. The sparkles from her disappeared form seem to emanate towards and from the jewel I'm holding, and I hold it to my heart with both hands, feeling the temperature enter my body now through my chest.

"At least let me hold you while you have to do…this," Inuyasha mutters. We are both blasted with a strong buffet of wind, squinting our eyes shut tight as the dust and heat stings them.

"Okay," I barely manage to whisper out, reaching for an arrow from Kikyou's fallen quiver. Somehow, the motions seem prescribed, as though something beyond me is carrying them out – I realize now it is Kikyou herself, the last of her light moving through me, through the jewel, back and forth, summoning me to do the right thing, and banish this goddamn jewel along with Naraku forever.

I hold it towards my heart.

"Wait a minute," I hear Naraku shouting in a voice full of doom, from far away. "How will you manage to ever get anyone back here with suicide? You _fool-!"_

I plunge the arrow straight through the jewel into my chest. _What a joke, this is exactly how I broke it, over five hundred years ago._

It shatters through the beautiful gem, and I watch it impale through the front of my shirt, through my ribcage, and I gasp for breath, never having felt a pain as intense as this. I feel Inuyasha shaking violently behind me, supporting me as I fall down to the ground.

"You _STUPID_ wench," Naraku is bellowing from the distance.

I watch my blood drip through my shirt in huge, thick drops. Inuyasha's face is buried between my neck and shoulder, and I don't know if he's just trembling, or crying for real; I can't hear or tell over the deafening sounds of fire crashing all around us.

I feel sick to my stomach. This is it. This is me, plunging my incarnation's arrow through myself, dying in order to live. This is it. This is really it…

"We're going to make it," I murmur softly to Inuyasha, feeling my vision get hot and bright, then start to fade into grey, then black…

"Kagome," He's gasping out desperately, as I feel my body totally drop through an eternity's worth of time and space, my soul dropping to the end of the galaxy with the same sound of a crystal gem falling onto a marble floor, then shattering, then…

Disappearing.


	29. Chapter 29

My body feels like it falls into eons worth of ocean leagues, suspended in the weight of marine trenches, yet simultaneously feeling like I am floating through the air the way a leaf does – falling through the sky to and fro, then settling lightly on the ground.

I reach out to rub my face hard, feeling like I'd been awake for months. I sigh heavily, then suddenly remember the fact I'd pretty much just committed suicide in the waking world beyond the well. Inuyasha is no longer behind me, and when I look around in all directions, everything is just black. It seems there are some beginnings of stars on the horizon, but I can't tell for sure with my rest-deprived eyes.

I feel a cough escape my throat as the searing pain of where the arrow had stabbed me comes back, full force. I stare down as I choke up a good mouthful of my own blood, and it sends me into a panic attack instantly.

"…_Inuyasha,_" My mind cries out desperately. "_Inuyasha!"_

He's not here…no one is here. The jewel I'd stabbed through is gone, as well. Is this what death is? No, if that were the case, I wouldn't even be conscious or aware of anything…what was this then? Purgatory?

I would laugh at that, if I wasn't in so much pain.

I look down at the floor, or wherever I am, beneath me, watching the blood drip out from my chest further. This was so incredibly scary. I hate gore. Even if I'd gotten used to all the death in the _sengoku jidai _it didn't make me any less averse to blood and guts and all of that unpleasant…nonsense.

So of course with all the blood loss, I start to feel even weaker.

Before my hazy eyes though…a figure starts to appear before me. The sound of a man gasping for air briefly fills my ears, and I blink a few times, startled. Who was that…? It looks like his silhouette is just a shadow, then as if a light turns on, he is revealed to me.

Ah. I would be in much more fear if I'd had the adrenalin left in my body, but with the blood loss and all, I can't. Naraku is now just a few yards away, with the exact same wound in his chest, too.

His eyes stare into mine – bitterly. Hatefully. I narrow mine a little bit, but at this point I'm just too tired to care.

"Why not have just listened to Kikyou?" He taunts me, in spite of the heavy flow of blood dripping from the side of his mouth. Like he's too strong to bother, he doesn't hold the big gaping wound in his chest like I have to, merely to support myself. "You could have lived safely in your pathetic little world."

I glare at him for what feels like eternity. I cough a bit more, feeling even weaker. I want to roll my eyes at how many times I'd heard that phrase now, but I don't have it in me._ How was I not dead yet, anyway_…? I then notice the jewel right in the middle of our distance from each other. It's shifting between colors, and I'm concerned by how it flickers between black and white while also giving off powerful, loud sparks like it's charged with electricity.

This is it. This is the one that belongs to him. No longer is Kikyou's cursed apparition of a jewel, the sham it was, bearing any weight on our fate or the outcome.

This was it. This was really it.

I swallow hard…bringing my eyes back up to meet the ones belonging to my worst enemy.

"Haven't you had enough?" I ask him, sighing it out, feeling too tired to really even care anymore. The feeling of the blood still leaving my body is taking its toll…

"…Enough?" He repeats, like he's never heard this word.

"You say we could have stayed in my pathetic world…s-so what," I find it becoming more and more difficult to talk with every word that manages to escape my lips. I pant for air for a moment, before I can even try to continue. "…so…_what,_ then? You have your dark planet five hundred years time before mine, so you can still have _nothing?_"

His eyes widen at me, then his brows meet in the middle, but he remains silent. The bloodflow from the cavity in his body seems to intensify too, but I also don't have it in me to smirk at noticing. It's hard enough not paying attention to him dying right in front of me.

The _shikon no tama _lets off sparks that are making audible sounds, now.

"All you wanted was Kikyou, wasn't it?" I now feel tears coming to my eyes, realizing she's gone forever now. "You…essentially…killed her. I guess I get how…how she felt about Inuyasha, now…if…if you can't have them in life, then…then you can have them…in death. Am I right…?"

He doesn't say anything, his eyes just lower to stare at the jewel before us. His forearms twitch like he's ready to reach forward and snatch it, but then the curling up his lip in pain from the blood-loss tells me he reconsiders.

"Aren't I?" I cry out, for her sake, for Inuyasha's, for my own sake, for no one's…

"Enough." He repeats this word again, more like a question than a statement. Oh, _now_ he wants to use it like it's not unfamiliar anymore.

"Enough _is _enough," I mutter, feeling fed up now because nothing can reach him, even when we're alone, weaponless, on the verge of death, in the middle of some unknown dimension…nothing will reach him. Nothing at all. It never would've, wouldn't it? I mean, who am I kidding, I can't purify the heart of someone whose name literally means _Hell… _

I lash my hands out and snatch the jewel in my fingers, and he looks at me in horror before reaching right back out to try and take it from me. I sob with the effort of wrestling it out of his arms once he's gotten a hold of it, trying to ignore our blood pooling in the middle and combining to the point you can't tell who got blood on whom anymore, and I now understand in some ways how the miko who created the jewel in the first place, also must have felt.

"This has to stop," I shout, gasping for breath. "All we do is repeat the cycle and don't you think that this is enough?! Haven't you…had…ENOUGH?!"

He says nothing in return; my voice echoes into the black hole for a while, reverberating and making my ears hurt at how desperate I sound. He just looks angrier, he just keeps trying to steal the gem back from my grasp, like a child who wants its stolen plaything back. But his trembling hands are obvious to me, even with the blurring vision.

"I know for a fact…Kikyou _has_," I somehow am able to wrestle it away from him, and I begin to purify it with everything in me, even though it somehow hurts infinity times more than before. The lightning of conflict within the _shikon no tama _electrocutes me with centuries worth of priestesses and demons fighting to be understood, begging for the endless cycle of misery to stop. "And I know…for a fact…that _I _have…as well."

I wait for him to pounce again. Even through my eyes are blurred with blood and tears, I know when the moment will be right. And he makes an opening for me. As he lunges towards me once more to try and take the jewel back, I shove it hard into the opening in his chest cavity, yet I can't even feel satisfied at the horrid choking sound he makes as the purified jewel sears through him like molten iron. I try to not mind the first time I've smelled burning flesh so up close. I can't find any way to gain any satisfaction out of murdering my enemy like this. Murder. What an awful word. _But shouldn't it be fair when he's murdered Kikyou, and her spirit, too?_

There is no rationalizing something that doesn't make sense, I try to tell myself.

"Haven't _you, _too, Naraku?" I see my tears fall down onto his cheeks as I've pinned down those evil hands. The purified jewel is returning its energy into me, as it saps it from him. And I notice within the beautiful orb, it's begun to crack. He is looking at me now with this disgusting mix of rage entwined with horror. "Haven't you…had _enough?_"

"Haven't…I…" He repeats yet again, like he's forgotten how to even speak. And to my life's surprise his eyes almost look like they are welling up with tears, too. We both know this is it. This is the end. I am surprised at the fact I now feel _more _guilty, than less.

"The truth is," I cry one more time as I plunge the jewel into him so deep, it starts burning my own hands, "…I feel more sad for you than for anyone else," I choke on my words. "You tried to separate us all and we only grew closer. But you...you will be alone in hell forever for what you've done!"

And with that…it's over. I keep screaming and shouting and crying and forcing all my weight down onto the jewel down into his chest, but when I finally open my eyes after the intense explosion of hot white light has dissipated, his form is completely gone…

…The jewel is still there, in my hands. I blink back more tears and try to bring it closer to get a good look at it, but I watch in terror as it disintegrates into diamond-dust and pulls me in towards it without my even trying. I scream as it drags me forward with the force of gravity, feeling like I'm plunging even deeper into blackness, everything moving so fast my eyes can't even focus.

"Kagome…"

My ears alight at the sound of a soft voice happily saying my name. Ah, it's Kikyou's voice…yet, I can't see her anywhere as the speed at which I'm falling slows a little, and now it's like a calm descent instead.

"Kagome…!"

Inuyasha's voice. My body fills with warmth and I reach a hand to my eyes to wipe away my tears, just like he would.

"I hope I did the right thing for you," I say softly into the void, not even knowing who I'm saying it to.

_You did, _I hear my own voice reply.

I finally feel like I can let go, and so I close my eyes.

_Enough. Enough and no more. That is how the world is made._


	30. Chapter 30

_(HELLO MY LOVELIES! this chapter is in Inu's point of view. enjoy, xoxoxo)_

* * *

Kagome's body which I hold in my arms feels totally lifeless, and it scares the shit out of me more and more with each passing second. I forget how to breathe. The sky is no longer purple, and Kikyou's reassuring presence is no longer here, either, the well beside us is still gone…

Was this all it would end up being? Me, the only one who gets to cross over, and everyone else being gone forever? Much worse…at the love of my life's expense…

"Kagome," I shake her. No response. She's still breathing lightly, her face still retains its color, but…she's completely out…the arrow she'd plunged through her chest just vanished at some point, and only left a little tear through the front of her shirt...no visible wound intact. In fact…if I try to recall these last few chaotic minutes, I can't even remember how they'd passed. I think my eyes were shut tight, like the fucking coward I am. All I can remember is howling, intense wind; so strong I'd been worried it would blow the entire world away – and holding onto her so, _so_ hard, just in case it dared trying to take her with it.

_Fucking…damn it all to hell, _I think, starting to lose my grip on reality. Why end up coming back to my own time with her if it meant she'd end up like this?! _It wasn't worth it. I would've spent forever in that shitty modern world if it'd meant I could keep her safe from harm. Just like how I'd told her. I meant it._

I feel a new weight on my side, and gasp for air as I reach for it, feeling a familiar sensation…_tetsusaiga._

_No fucking good to have my sword back with the bad guy gone, now,_ I think, furious. Just what was I supposed to do? Miroku was gone. Sango, gone. Shippo. Kirara. Sesshoumaru. Everyone else. I think of Kagome sardonically shouting about my half-brother having probably moved to some other country back in her world by now, and I let out a weak laugh, thinking now, she was probably right.

I decide to give it one last attempt, lightly vibrating her body in my arms in the hopes it'll revive her consciousness, but still, nothing.

"Always acting reckless by yourself and trying to save everyone," I mutter angrily at her, even though I know she can't hear me. I decide to stand up...and go to the only place I knew I had left. "I-idiot. You always…do that…"

But at least this way she wouldn't see the tear that fell down my cheek, landing on hers.

How ironic of me to call her an idiot, and even have the balls to feel like I could be angry at her for anything. If anyone's an idiot here, it's me and me alone.

"Inuyasha…!"

Kaede's old voice greets me in shock as I open her door. She'd been in the middle of tending to a huge pot of something. She gets up with a bit of a stumble, rushing over clumsily to the doorway to put her hands on Kagome's head softly.

"You've been missing for ages," She stammers. "Is…is Kagome-chan okay?"

"I don't know," I exhale, lightly putting her down on the scattering of hay on the floor. I can't even acknowledge how I would miss mattresses in the modern day now, seeing her lay there with nothing even to support her beautiful head.

"Where were you?" She demands. "And…those strange clothes…"

"I can tell you about it later," I snap. I realize I still have that dumb beanie on my head, and I rip it off and throw it to the floor. "I don't even know what just fucking happened. We were somewhere else…all of us…in Kagome's time…yet only the two of us made it back here…that piece-of-shit Naraku is to blame, of course…sure you'd have guessed that by now, though…"

"Was Kikyou there too?" Kaede asks, sounding like this was her last question. Her one visible eye glimmers with a sad hope, delighted probably to hear anything connected to her long-gone and beloved sister.

"…Yeah," I reply carefully, forcing the image of myself kissing her forehead out of my mind with an uncomfortable shudder. "She's…the reason we got back safely, but…she's also the reason Kagome is like this now. Their combined powers…overwhelmed her, or something, I don't know. Shit."

The old woman stares at me, waiting for me to go on.

"Kikyou said Kagome would come back," I shout. "But look! Would you call this her being 'back' in the world of the living?! She's completely out," I bury my face in my hands, ready to just go into a fugue state, but I surprisingly don't have it in me. "She was supposed to die in order to come back to life."

"If Kikyou told you so, then it will be so," Kaede stated matter-of-factly. "You know my sister was not one to tell a lie."

I frown, not wanting to even acknowledge any of this bullshit. I stroke Kagome's cheek and sigh again, angry about all the time we'd wasted just to end up here, this way…how easy it felt to exist in a time where demons weren't running around trying to make hell break loose…to even enjoy sharing an apartment in that strange modern world with my disgusting sibling and the little fox-kid getting into trouble everywhere, having those odd things like cell phones and clothes that have zippers and buttons and buses to take to places when you were too lazy to run there.

Yet I can't say I miss it, not even the least, if she isn't with me. Here, or there. Anywhere. I selfishly hold my breath so the misting over of my eyes can't come through.

"I-I…Inuyasha," A surprised gasp comes from the door – a new voice.

"Miroku?!" I whirl around to see him peering in through the doorway, his dark blue eyes looking absolutely astonished.

I glance back down at Kagome. Still no movement.

"K-Kagome-sama is…?" He starts to ask as he carefully comes over to the other side of the room where I sit beside her.

"Miroku!" A woman's voice cries out from a short distance, and we both turn around. Sango appears now too, panting for breath, her face totally streaked with tears. "Oh my god, I was so scared…"

"What the fuck is going on?!" I holler at both of them, still not fully processing the fact that they're back here in this world with me now, too.

"The well," He insists. "The well suddenly just…pulsed. I couldn't resist…coming to it, even from as far away as I'd been."

I frown, feeling like that's too simple. It had been gone when I'd opened my eyes after that…storm. I feel a headache coming on, unable to reconcile with possibly losing my mind and imagining things.

He gasps again with a sudden oncoming memory, bringing up one of his hands with an open palm. Sango rushes over and nearly collapses on her knees behind his back, putting her hands on his shoulders as she peers over them.

"The _kazaana._" Is all he can breathe out, noticing it's still gone. For good.

"Miroku," Sango sobs out his name once again, and he turns around rapidly to meet her fierce embrace, the two of them shaking from head to toe with relief.

I frown even more, enraged I can't be reuniting with my woman in joy as I'd dreamed we would on this day. All our fun memories from her day and age just feel hollow now, as I turn back around to gaze at her, as a horrid and uncomfortable sensation floods my insides. I reach out once more to touch her – letting my fingertips entangle slightly in her glossy black waves, paying close attention to the long shadows her lashes leave on her cheekbones, the tiny smattering of freckles across her nose bridge, the rosiness of her lips…the more I pay attention to the little things I love about her, the worse I feel.

"I could have prevented this," I bark out, hardly meaning to. Sango and Miroku beside me freeze in their joyful grip on one another, staring at me.

"Prevented this…?" Sango repeats, and then her eyes flash darkly as she seems to bite back a sharp comment.

"You're damn right, that's what I said," I'm practically screaming now—

"-Inuyasha," Kaede scolds from across the room.

"What would the both of you understand, getting to hold each other like that?!" I roar at the two of them, as they look at each other with frustration and pity before glaring right back at me.

I realize I sound childish, but I don't care. Unable to take the situation anymore, I storm out of the small wooden hut, slapping the door behind me with so much force I almost want to stop and admire the fact I hadn't broken it.

"It's not like she's dead!" I hear Sango scream right back as she throws the door open to make sure her voice carries out to me. "Be grateful we're _all_ back, and don't just give up on her like the goddamn wimp you are!"

I bite my lower lip, hard, unable to even retort. Even if she's right. Not being able to see the familiar brightness of life in Kagome's eyes was enough to make me feel like _I'd _been the one who died, instead.

* * *

Later on in the evening, after several hours had passed, I decide to lay across one of the large boughs of the _goshinboku, _able to at least breathe a little easier in its presence. I look across the distance where I know Kagome's house in the modern age would be peacefully standing still – the occasional shout of her voice as she encountered something troublesome, her little brother's laughter. Her _ojii-san _sweeping away the dust and leaves gathering across the stone tiles of the front of the shrine.

I exhale heavily, slapping my hands over my eyes as tears begin to gather at the corners of them once again. Like a little kid desperate to get his way, I wanted her body in my hands, I wanted reassurance she was as warm and soft and pliable in my arms as always, her every nook and cranny fitting perfectly against myself.

I just needed to see her alive – alive as she is, I needed more than that. I need to see her laughing, I need to see her sad face, her angry face, all of her expressions, but above all that beautiful smile.

_Fuck._ I turn over onto my side, away from the direction I'd been imagining her house would be in, and feel the tears come on for real.

At least, I was alone—

"Inuyasha?" A little voice questions carefully, far below me.

I gasp on my surprised breath so hard I nearly choke.

"Shippou?!" I yell, seeing his bright red hair way beneath where I lay in the tree. "The 'fuck? Get _out_ of here!"

"You're not even happy to see me?!" He screeches. "Besides, any demon ten miles from here could smell you whining and crying like a lost puppy!"

"Oh yeah?" I mutter, feeling dangerous thanks to his puny little threats. "Then you shoulda done the intelligent thing and stayed those ten miles away before I beat your smart little ass."

"W-well…_HEY_, you're not the only one who's upset, you dummy," He shouts upwards, putting his little paws around his mouth to try and make his voice carry.

I begin to wonder how he even got back here, too, but really…it didn't matter.

"Just get outta here and go keep an eye on her, or something," I snarl, turning away again.

"That's _YOUR _job!" He hollers right back at me, storming off.

I exhale, feeling the heaviness on my chest intensify. The little brat was right. I watch him in silence as he stalks off clumsily over the huge roots of the tree, disappearing behind some bushes with little sniffling sounds I could tell he'd been trying to conceal.

The sadness eats away at me from even deeper within. I try to recall the last time I'd felt so empty and destroyed – had it been when Kikyou died the first time around? Had it been when the seal on me was broken? Had it been every time I was mocked, ruthlessly harassed for my heritage?

It all seemed so paltry and fake, the more I tried to think about it. The last time I could remember this intense emotion I could hardly describe as anything but spiritual devastation was when Kagome had fiercely informed me she needed to cross the well alone.

In a way…I didn't regret not allowing her. At least in those final moments she had consciousness, I was making sure she was safe. Wasn't that all that mattered?

I press my palms into my eyes so hard I see nothing but blazing white stars. The feeling of hot tears falling down my cheeks is so foreign, I can't help but let out a dry laugh.

* * *

When it's morning, I feel absolutely hungover. Loud birds chirp in the higher treetop of the _goshinboku _and the sun has just barely finished rising, leaving the sky a pale, creamy yellow shade.

"Ugh…" I groan out, rubbing my temples. My back is killing me from having passed out in an odd position.

And before I can even begin to comprehend, or dread what this upcoming day is about to be like, a fucking massive burst of something metallic swings down inches above where my head was resting.

"SHIT!" I scream out, leaping forward instantly and gagging on air as the adrenalin shot through my veins.

"You fool," A murderous voice mutters. I glare through my sweat-soaked brows at Sesshoumaru, in a higher tree bough above me. The several yards of wood where his sword had just landed fall down hard onto the earth below, and I wince out of respect for the ancient tree, and his abuse thereof.

"Who're you calling a fool," I groan tiredly, not even in the mood for him. "Mr. Never Even Showed Up To Beat Naraku Like He Bragged About."

He leaps down so that he's inches away from me. He sheathes his sword, and I bare my teeth as he gets just a bit closer, unable to prevent the low growl escaping my throat.

Yet with all the noise I was making, I can't even bring myself to defend myself from him, as he reaches out a fist with lightning-speed and punches me straight across the face. I cough out a large wad of blood and fall down to my knees at the impact. I brace myself for him to beat the shit out of me even further, but he steps back.

"I would normally take this out on you, Inuyasha," He croons fiercely. "But you are being punished enough for your idiocy in handling this situation. And it would not be within me to attack the woman who ended up destroying that vile creature in the first place."

"Oh, well thanks for the fucking wake-up call," I growl as he begins to turn his back to me. I can already feel the injury healing, but…still. I crack my jaw back into place and can hardly care about how much it hurts. "I'll let her know about your _honorable_ praise, you fucking _asshole_."

"…You are welcome," He growls right back, leaping away and seemingly disappearing into thin air.

* * *

After resting enough to the point I feel like my jaw has recovered and is no longer bruised, I hop down onto the forest floor and slowly make my way back to Kaede-baa-chan's old wooden hut.

When I enter, Sango and Miroku are eating some kind of stew out of small bowls with forlorn expressions on their faces, spacing out and staring into the distance at nothing. I notice now Sango's friend Kirara has arrived here somehow as well, and is curled up in her lap. Kohaku is back too, dozing off at Sango's side. Kagome is still in the corner, wrapped up adorably in a blanket now, her cheeks as rosy as ever, but regardless, I can tell she hasn't moved of her own accord.

I can't help but notice how our friends still have on their weird modern clothes, the jeans and t-shirts looking so out of place in this time. Then again, who am I to talk? Still wearing the same kind of stupid outfit.

I open my mouth and Miroku's eyes snap to attention. "Don't say a word," He sounds snippy but the pleading tone in his voice tells me he's feeling more than just irritable.

So, I close my mouth, too tired to argue with him, and then notice Shippo curled up beside Kagome, under the blanket as well, sleeping fitfully. My heart twists in a painful way, thinking of all the times I've seen them sleep together like that, yet I'd never worried it'd be during a time she showed no signs of waking up.

"It is possible she is just spiritually exhausted," Kaede offers with a sigh, her joints cracking as she comes over to sit besides us. "She destroyed the _shikon no tama _and Naraku herself, from what it seems."

"Do you mean, like…her miko energy, or something like that?" Sango asks softly.

"That's probably the best way to describe it," Kaede replies with a shrug, looking at the girl with affection and sympathy.

Kikyou's words resonate in my head once again…how Kagome would have to die once in order for the plan to destroy the jewel along with Naraku to work. Amidst all the horrific chaos and miasma and hurricane-like natural disaster forces happening in that moment, I cannot for the life of me recall how she may have followed through with the whole thing, and the desire to know eats away at me.

Sango and Miroku finish their food, and Kaede takes their bowls away, setting them aside. Kohaku snaps out of his daze and opens his eyes, scrambling to his feet. The younger of the two women goes over to Shippo, gently nudging him. "Hey, buddy, time to get up."

His green eyes open slowly. "Anhh…mmpfh…okay."

"We're going to go collect some herbs that might help Kagome-chan awaken sooner," Kaede informs me, as they all get up and smooth out the wrinkles in their clothes. "And we figured…you might want a moment to be alone with her."

"Ok," Is all I can manage to say, feeling choked up again.

They all exchange a worried look, and then head out the door.

I feel a nasty frown contort my face. How could they seem so nonchalant?! I crawl over from where I'd been sitting on the floor a little ways away so I can be beside her precious body again, laying myself out so I'm facing her.

I reach out and touch her cheek…feeling a ton of emotions course through me at the warmth that still remains there.

"Kagome, you gotta come back," I whisper to her, wondering if there's even any chance she can hear me. I try to not get my hopes up. A little curl from her fringe falls down into her lashes, and I sweep it aside carefully. "…my love. Come back. Please."

I long desperately to hear her reply – a tiny giggle, sticking her tongue out at me, anything.

I randomly remember her throwing herself over me in my bed that one afternoon, after I'd confessed to her, crying and yelling about how much she loved me back – Kagome, eyes glittering, no clothes on – gorgeous, even when throwing a fit.

I slam a fist down on the wooden floor, and it cracks, splintering my skin, but even though it hurts, I can't be bothered. I bite back some more cussing. I almost want to see her flinch at the sudden intensity so close to her face, but. Nothing.

"Please," is all I can beg once more, feeling my ears pin back against my head out of how disgustingly sad I felt. I lean over, kissing her mouth, feeling like I want to cry again as her soft lips touch mine, yet she can't kiss back.

I shut my eyes hard for a moment to prevent the tears, shaking my head hard as if it'll clear my messed-up mind, and force myself to stand up roughly. I stalk out of Kaede's old hut and head towards the well.

For whatever odd reason, I'm able to cross into Kagome's time. I can hardly be astonished or care about this strange circumstance as the bright blue light of crossing centuries subsides, and I'm at the bottom of the well in her time. I leap up to the surface, exiting the closed off shrine, and sullenly walk across her lot, feeling like I didn't belong in my time, or hers anymore. I make a point to refuse to look at her familiar and welcoming house.

I find myself stumbling around in the city over the next few hours. I want a beer, something – anything. I refuse to pay attention to oncoming humans and a few of them shoulder me crudely, since I get in their way, and one guy yells, "Watch it!"

"Watch your fucking _self,_ shithead!" I snarl back, and he flinches and hurries away.

"Did you see the ears on that guy?" A woman gasps as I pass her. Even though she whispers, my hearing picks it up without any difficulty. A blessing, and a curse…

"What, you think they're real?" The woman with her snickers. "He's probably a cosplayer or something."

Oh…right, the ears, I always forget. _Besides…what the fuck is a cosplayer?!_

As soon as I encounter an alleyway, I find a rickety old steel ladder leading up to the roof of some building. The dark, dank scent of the alley floods my nose and I cough, only refreshed by the clear air above as I reach the top.

The air though, in this time, felt so different. From all the gross machines down below I now was familiar with as cars, I couldn't smell any of the fresh wilderness on the outskirts of the city. And as I look up into the sky, I notice how you can hardly see any stars. Light pollution, Kagome had blamed it on, with that tactful voice of hers.

I plop myself down on the edge of the building with a sigh, pulling splinters out of the side of my hand with my teeth. My ass hurts from slamming it down on the cement so hard. I let my mind wander as I pull out each splinter, imagining Kagome and fucking her how she loves. I imagine eating with her and sleeping next to her; listening to her ramble on about her day and all the dumb shit her friends would say and how much I adored hearing it anyways; watching her delicately brush her long, beautiful hair while going over class notes, as that beautiful, peaches and cream neck of hers calls out to me for kissing—

"GOD **DAMN** IT!" I scream out as loud as I can, feeling a _horrid _migraine creep up on me with each memory coursing through my head. I spit out the last splinter hard, almost thinking for a second I sent it flying so hard it'll impale some poor person down below.

A few people below cringe and jump at the mysterious insane man shouting, looking around in mixed fear and bemusement. _Oh,_ I realize as I roll my eyes, _here in this time, it's a Friday night – so how out-of-place could it _really_ be._

I head back to the modern-day _goshinboku _and decide to pass out there.

* * *

Sometime in the late afternoon of the next day, I drowsily decide to head back to Kaede-baabaa's place. I cross the well with no issue yet again, shaking my head furiously at how it made no sense.

When I step through her door, Sango and Miroku appear to have changed back in their clothes typical of this day and age. I recoil a little, having gotten used to their other outfits. I feel strange now, too, wearing jeans, boots, and some sweater I'd gotten in Kagome's world. I had no idea where my _hakama _had gone.

But then…I notice something weird – a sensation I'd noticed earlier around the same time I'd recovered _tetsusaiga_, but hadn't paid attention to due to the minority of it. I reach around my neck and breathe in sharply as I feel the subduing rosary is back around my neck. I grasp at it and pull, hard, remembering it can't come off. Why hadn't I still had it back in the other world?! Damn, even getting _sat _by her would feel better than still looking at her unconscious form.

"Uh…are you okay, Inuyasha-san?" Kohaku asks me with a guarded voice, as he cleans some knives off to the side.

"…Sure," I reply, ignoring how weird that sounded.

Sango and Miroku exchange a _look _but say nothing. Kaede gives me a solemn nod in greeting; nothing more. I nod back awkwardly and go over to where Kagome is still curled up comfortably in the other corner of the room.

I notice someone has replaced her scattering of hay on the floor with a soft blanket, and a little piece of fabric had been rolled up and placed under her neck to support her head. I sigh a little, feeling grateful to whoever had done that for her.

I look down at her for the millionth time, clutching at the front of my shirt as that old, burning pain squeezes my ribcage, feeling like I'm going to have a panic attack. I hold the sides of her face in my hands, knowing how much she loved that.

And…to my shock, she lets out the tiniest sound. Not even a groan, a sigh, a murmur – the tiniest little hum I think human ears couldn't even pick up.

"You heard that?!" Shippou, who I hadn't even noticed was across me on her other side, asks in equal disbelief.

"Kagome. Oh my fucking god," I lightly roll her head side to side in my hands, then grab her shoulders and shake them. "If you can hear me! Say, do something, anything!"

Her mouth moves just barely, and my ears strain to the point of aching – I can't hear her. I lean closer, trying to make out even the tiniest little breath of some semblance of words—

"I-Inu…yasha…"

My heart stops and my breathing does as well. I'm overcome with such extreme joy, I can't help but grab and shake Shippou with the energy now flooding back through my body once again.

"Kagome…!" I feel ready to shout, not having expected her to come around so soon. The delight is too much for me to bear.

"O-…"

"O…?" Shippou repeats the vowel in confusion. We stare at each other in amazement. What could she be trying to say?!

"Os…"

I notice her smile a little, then the smile fades away as if she's fallen back asleep again. Her dainty hands grip onto the blanket above her tightly.

"…Osuwari."

And I plummet face-first into the floor.


End file.
